


Rising of the Sleeping Soldier

by Vanix



Category: Castlevania (Cartoon), 悪魔城ドラキュラ | Castlevania Series, 盾の勇者の成り上がり - アネコユサギ | Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari | The Rising of the Shield Hero - Aneko Yusagi
Genre: Castlevania AU, Crossover, Discrimination, F/M, False rape accusations, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Plot, Post-Season/Series 02, alucard deserves better tbh, alucard is a disaster bisexual, eventually, no beta we die like men, this is a complete crack story but ill do my best
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2020-12-14 23:18:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 28,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21023867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vanix/pseuds/Vanix
Summary: He thought after defeating his father he could finally have a fresh start with his loved ones. Instead he finds himself pulled into another world as their "shield hero." And he would like nothing more than to return home. Unfortunately it seems the world has other plans for him.-----------An alternate universe where Alucard is summoned as the shield hero instead of Naofumi. He is very done with everything very quickly. This is a weird crossover tbh.





	1. I don't think we're in Wallachia anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work that honestly took me way too long to write but I hope you enjoy the first chapter. Castlevania is one of my favorite shows rn along with shield hero. Does it justify his crossover? Who knows. Comments are extremely appreciated!

He had been awaiting their arrival for two weeks now. While he was staying behind to guard the castle some brave courier approached the grounds with a letter saying that they were close by, having finished their latest mission in the north visiting the speakers and dealing with a demon problem. They may have put an end to his father's war but demons still roamed the land, and with no master to direct them they ran wild.

He had his equipment on him today as a precaution. The three of them had terrible luck and he wanted to make sure nothing would interrupt their reunion. He had on his signature coat on, which Trevor lovingly said it made him look like a "pretentious as fuck noble", and of course he had his longsword on him along with some other tools on his person.

It wasn't long before he could hear their wagon off in the far distance almost 300 feet away. Of course any normal person wouldn't be able to hear that far but vampirism had its perks. Filled with anticipation he moved to open the castle doors to welcome them back. He was hoping to surprise them with how much he's changed the castle since they've last seen it

During the time they were gone he'd had taken to cleaning up large parts of the castle and the entrance was one of the biggest undertakings. Debris had been the first thing he handled, sweeping away broken class, dust, stones, and the occasional vampire corpse and depositing them in a trash heap towards the back. Cracked stone pillars were filled in and restabilized. Luckily none of them were completely destroyed so they only needed touching up. The rug on the other hand was torn in many places and ultimately he decided to just have it replaced rather than wasting time or resources replacing it. The scratches and burns on the door had been sanded out and restored to its former glory. It was a good thing he could levitate or he'd never be able to fix the top.

He must have been lost in his thoughts as he heard a wagon grinding to a halt and didn't notice it coming in the first place. Stepping outside he was greeted with the sight of his two companions climbing off the front of their wagon, and Trevor nearly falling off before catching himself. It was a minute before the two of them noticed him standing there waiting for them. Trevor walked over to him first, disregarding the luggage he was unloading. 

"Quite the homecoming. Expecting someone?" He said with a shit eating grin on his face.

"Of course I knew you were coming. I could smell your stench from a mile away."

Trevor grinned and punched his arm "And I see you're still the same cockwart as when we left."

Sypha on the other hand made a loud ahem noise. "Not even a minute back home and you two are already fighting like children."

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

"Agreed."

She glared at them with a slight pout for a moment before all three of them started laughing. Adrian in that moment felt such warmth blooming in his chest that only these two could inspire in him. Having them here in front of him reminded him just how much he missed their presence in his life. 

He looked to his two companions with a gentle smile "it really is good to see you two again. "

"Oh don't get sappy on us now I might get sick" Trevor said as he turned his head to make exaggerated gagging gestures.

"It's good to see you too Adrian."

He couldn't help but smile at that. Hearing them calling him Adrian made him feel at peace with himself, happy even. After the battle with his father he felt like he was slowly breaking apart from the inside out. Alucard's job was over. Humanity seldom needed a savior anymore, what it needed now was to rebuild and recover. What reason did he have for living anymore as well? His family was gone and he'd never be accepted by either side of his heritage. Too human for vampires and too vampire for humans. He was fully prepared to make the castle his tomb but then Trevor stopped him. Instead of leaving him to rot he gave him a new purpose, a new life. Instead of leaving the castle and the hold to rot he said to make it their new home, to make something out of it. And he said to do it by both of their sides.

While they were busy traveling he was fine staying back to watch over the grounds. There were many times where he felt he couldn't take it anymore and wanted to run to their side or even worse bury himself back in Gresit but he resisted the temptation every time. He knew they cared for him deeply, just as he did for them. So he'll continue to live each day waiting for their return, eager to hear their new stories and to have them home again. He felt like a lovesick puppy in that regard almost but of course he wouldn't show it too much.

Shaking him out of his thoughts was Trevor loudly groaning off to the side. "So are we are we gonna stand around all day being mushy or are we gonna unload the wagon?"

"I think I'm more partial to standing around all day. Quite relaxing."

"Oh shut up you..you fangy bastard."

"I swear your insults are getting better and better by the day." He said as he began helping them unload everything. He was moving several boxes at once as Trevor called him a show off under his breath when he noticed something.

From the pile of goods that they came home with one item stuck out to him as odd. A book to be precise. While normally a book would never really be abnormal or out of place it was different with these two. Trevor had no interest in literature beyond his own beastiary and the only books he's ever seen Sypha handle were the ones found in the Belmont hold. Though it is possible she picked it up on their journey, maybe she's starting her own collection despite speaker tradition.

"Sypha, what is this?" He held up the book in question for her to see.

Sypha looked visibly confused when she saw the book in question. "I don't know, I don't remember picking up any books on our journey. And I certainly know Trevor didn't get this."

"I take offense to that. Just because I'm not a nerd like you two doesn't mean I'm illiterate."

"Is this your book then?" She held it up for him to see.

"No..?"

"Then my point stands."

They had a good laugh at Trevor's expense and that was that. They all continued unloading the wagon and began talking about more mundane things like what to make for dinner.

It wasn't until the evening he thought about the book again. The three of them after dinner had taken to relaxing in front of the fireplace in one of the spare rooms on the lower floor. Trevor was dozing off to the side while Sypha handled the fireplace. As she was stoking the fire he wondered about the book again. He didn't even remember it's title at the moment but he was still curious about it. 

"Sypha."

"Yes Adrian?" She took her eyes off the fire to look at him, the light coming off of it giving her face a soft orange glow. 

"Do you still have that book on your person still?"

"Uh yes! I should have it in my bag one moment." She leaned back and scooted towards the chairs behind them where she left her bag. She looked to leave the heat of the fire in the first place so she was rather quick to dig through her bag and sit right back down.

"Here you are. I flipped through it a bit earlier and it just seemed to be some sort of story for children. A rather simplistic one at that." She handed him the book as she spoke and he finally got a good look at the cover. It was extremely worn out and stained, smothering the original red binding. The title was 'The Records of the Four Cardinal Weapons.' Odd title but he's seen worse. At least it wasn't a book entirely dedicated to penis spells.

The book itself was just as Sypha said. Simplistic and boring. It was about these four magical heroes each wielding a magical weapon, a bow a sword a spear and a shield to be exact, being summoned so that they might save the world. The story itself however mostly just had them wandering around, gaining strength and over all doing nothing important to the grand scheme of things. Not very riveting. There weren't really any other characters besides the heroes themselves but one character stuck out to him as particularly annoying. The princess character in the story seemed to be obsessed with the heroes, constantly jumping from each one and bringing nothing but disaster wherever she went. 

"I thought these characters were awful but the princess is something else entirely."

"I know right? It's amazing how little shame she has. Whenever she's around it's like a complete tonal shift too. Maybe the author was writing from experience."

Trevor decided to chime in for once "Oh yeah venting about your bitchy girlfriend in a children's book. A real champ."

Adrian smirked at that before continuing reading. Towards the back of the book every hero seemed to have a section describing their personality. 

"Weird way to structure your book. Why would you put these in the back?"

"Put what in the back?"

He leaned over to show her what he meant. "See these? They put character descriptions towards the back."

She looked rather confused. "That's odd. When I was reading it there were nothing but blank pages back there."

He flipped through the character sections for each of the heroes in order. The sword, bow, and spear each had their own descriptions, describing them as extremely strong, fiercely loyal, and justice seeking individuals. Overall par for the course for a hero. When he turned the page to read the section on the shield hero he found it...blank.

"You're right. The back is filled with blank pages, but only with the shield hero section."

He was going through the remaining blank pages when the pages started flipping themselves at a rapid pace in his hands. The book itself started softly glowing, alarming everyone in the room. 

All of a sudden he felt wrong, like something was tugging at his very being.

He could hear Sypha ask him "Adrian are you ok-?" Before being consumed by a bright yellow light as both Sypha and Trevor reached out for him yelling.

He felt himself rapidly falling through the air, light blinding his eyes. And as quick as it happened he stopped falling as his body thwumped onto the ground. He could hear muffled voices saying something about a successful summoning.

"Oh great heroes, please save our world!"

...what?

At the same time he heard 3 other voices speak out loud the exact same exact thing he was thinking. 

"What?"

From where he had fallen he could see three other people to his left. Harsh shadows were obscuring their faces but their voices sounded rather young. They wore unfamiliar clothing and looked to be holding various weapons. A sword, a bow, and a spear.

Just like the weapons in that book.

Taking his surroundings in more he saw he was surrounded by various people in robes. His vision was slightly obscured by a profit glowing light coming from his feet and looking down he found himself standing on top of what looked to be some sort of magic sigil.

As he brought himself up to stand he could feel something weighing on his arm and when he looked down he found a shield..?

A sword. A spear. A bow. And a shield.

What the fuck?

What looked to be the head of the group of cloaked figures repeated his statement. "Great heroes, I beg you please save our world!"

This didn't seem real. This was too much like that fairy tale for children to be real life. Maybe he had fallen asleep in front of the fire place after reading that book. "I think there's been some sort of mistake." Was all he could really say. 

One of the other people to his side nearly talked over him as soon as he got his words out. "What do you mean by that?"

"There is a long and complicated story behind this-"

"Shorten it."

He was ignored as the robed man continued talking. "-But we've summoned you Four Cardinal Heroes here using an ancient ritual. Our world teeters on the brink of destruction. We beg you, O' great heroes! Please help us!"

All the robed figures bowed before silence took over the room. He understood their plight but this was not his battle. Instead he chose to give them a simple answer.

"No."

Apparently the others were just as against fighting as they voiced their opinions right after him.

"I refuse as well."

"Likewise."

The one closest to him with the spear asked the question that was foremost on his own mind. "We can go back to our world, right? We'll talk about your problems after that."

The one wielding the sword seemed to agree as well as he raised his weapon towards the robed figures. "Don't you guys feel any guilt at all for bringing us here without our consent?"

Next the wielding the bow spoke up. "And if you throw us out as soon as peace is restored, we'd have worked for nothing."

Each of them brought up valid points he found himself agreeing with but somehow it felt disingenuous, like they had a different motive. This suspension wasn't helped by the spear wielder's next statement. 

"How willing are you to compensate us? Depending on your answer, we might end up becoming your enemies instead."

Ah. So that was their motivation, the rewards and benefits. He really shouldn't be surprised but at the same time their almost familiarity with the situation was questionable. He would have expected them to be more confused, not asking for rewards upfront without even knowing where they are.

The head of the group was obviously taken aback, stuttering as he answered their questions in a non answer way. "F-first, we'd like you to have an audience with the king of our country, Melomarc. You can negotiate your reward after that, so please..." The man then gestured for them to follow him out of the room. The kid pointing his sword at the man lowered it before giving his answer. "Fine I guess." 

The others quickly followed suit, the bow hero being first. "I suppose we could consider their offer." 

The last was the spear hero who just smirked and slugged his weapon on his shoulder. "Not like our demands are gonna change, no matter who we talk to." 

They were led up a stone spiral staircase and he got his first glance of the outside world. In the far distance there seemed to be a mountain range.The surrounding buildings reminded him of Italian style architecture with its pale bricks and red clay roofs. It was very sunny and he could feel the humidity hanging in the air. The ones with the sword and bow had stopped to admire the outside landscape as well.

"We really are in another world, huh?"

"Seems so, and judging by the weather it seems to be a Mediterranean climate."

He also got his first good look at the other heroes. The one with the sword was short with black hair, blue eyes and slightly effeminate features. The one with the spear had a longer face and reddish brown eyes. His hair was blond and pulled into a high ponytail, he also looked to be the oldest of the three. Meanwhile it was the bow hero who looked the youngest with baby fat still on his cheeks. He has dirty blonde hair with light green as and was just as short as the sword one. Overall they all looked incredibly young and inexperienced. Surely they don't want these children to fight for them ...do they? This was getting more sketchy by the minute. Forcibly taking four people from their homes to fight in your war they have no part in is bad enough but sending what is essentially children to the front lines? He's not liking this one bit.

While they were still walking up the stairs, the one with the spear turned back to face him.

"Soooo are you a cosplayer or something?"

There was a moment of pause. 

"Pardon.?"

"I mean with that fancy coat, the high boots, and the belts strapped on you look like you walked straight out of Harajuku. You get summoned during a bad time?"

"I'm not following at all." Cosplay? Harajuku? The fuck is that?

He looks like he's about to say more when the swords man puts his hand on his shoulder and tells him to drop it. 

They remained silent for the rest of the walk. It was uneventful beyond walking through a courtyard. For a brief moment he thought they were being watched but when he looked around he found the courtyard was deserted. There wasn't anyone in the windows either so it was probably nothing, at most a passing servant. He couldn't help himself feeling tense. He didn't know what kind of man this king would be and for all he knew he could be walking into a trap.

Eventually they were led into a massive space. It had an entire wall covered in windows flooding the room with light along with half a dozen chandeliers with lit candles. There were high arches spanning across the room, all white and gilded with gold. He could see guards lined up the entire stretch of the room as well as several people who looked to be nobles, and at the end of the hall sat a man adorned with a crown and various jewels and furs. It couldn't possibly be anymore obvious that he was the king. They were led down the room until they were stopped about ten feet before the king, and the men in robes bowed towards him before stepping off to the side.

The man before them on the throne was old with silver hair and a silver beard to match. He had a somewhat portly body and had high quality purple robes on along with various pieces of jewelry besides his crown. He looked at them with barely a twinkle of interest in his eye. It looked fake.

"So these four men are the cardinal heroes of ancient legend?" He said in a dull tone.

"I am the king of Melromarc, Aultclay Melromarc XXXII." His brow furrowed as he looked towards them once more. "Heroes, name yourselves."

The swordsman was the first to introduce himself. "Amaki Ren, sixteen years old, highschooler."

The one with the spear followed suit and stepped forward with a cocky look on his face. "I'm Kitamura Motoyasu. Twenty one and a college student."

"I suppose I'm next." The bow hero spoke. "Kawasumi Itsuki, seventeen years old, and a highschooler."

One would presume he'd be next to introduce himself but before he could even think about getting a word in the king continued talking. 

"I see. Ren, Motoyasu, and Itsuki I take it?"

He narrowed his eyes in slight annoyance. The cold shouldering from the king couldn't be more obvious. If he didn't want to acknowledge his existence then fine, he didn't owe him anything. The others seemed to notice that he had been blatantly skipped over but they didn't say anything, rather they seemed to be waiting to see if he or the king would say anything about it. However, he wouldn't be giving him the satisfaction. He knew how court politics work and he knew that this was a power play. The king looked him in the eye for a moment, almost challenging him to call out the mistake but instead all he got was a blank stare and silence. He coughed into his hand before speaking once again.

"Now then, I suppose I owe you an explanation. My country, Melromarc, and the entire planet is being threatened with total destruction."

As the king continued talking it was obvious his silence was bothering him immensely. Melromarc must have been waiting for him to speak up about it so he could make a fool out of him but it never happened. The nobles seemed tense as well, not expecting this either. This reminded him too much of the vampire court his father would regularly attend years ago. Every move and stare would be calculated and pointed, every subtle action a power play. They were all too obvious.

The story he proceeded to tell was nearly identical to the plot of the book. Apocalyptic waves were threatening to destroy the world, each wave stronger than the last. Each county had something called a "dragon hourglass" that would keep track of the time between waves and predict when they would arrive next. Apparently the first wave already happened before they were summoned. Various local adventurers and knights were able to fight it but just barely. The devastation from the first wave led them to the conclusion that they needed the four heroes of legend, or they'd never survive a second wave. So that led them to perform a ritual to summon said four heroes, which led to their arrival.

"-This is why we have no time to lose! The next wave is in a month's time and we need you."

The one he knew as Ren loudly slammed the blade of his sword on the ground, grabbing everyone's attention. "We get the gist of it now. Anyway, surely you didn't summon us expecting us to save you for free."

Another expensively dressed old man who looked to be some sort of shady advisor answered them instead of the king himself. "Of course, once you repel all the waves we shall reward you handsomely." 

The three of them had what looked like a silent agreement before replying in succession.

"Will you now? Well, as long as we have your word."

"We'll work with you provided you don't turn on us. But don't think for a moment that you can tame us."

"Exactly. We can't have you looking down on us."

Such pure arrogance. Only fools would respond like that. The king however looked satisfied at their conclusion, meanwhile not even sparing a glance his way for his own answer. 

"I trust we have an agreement then-."

He's had enough of this. While the others might be content to play hero and live out this fantasy he had his own problems to deal with. What he needed was to get home as immediately not be fighting a war for some other world without his consent. Sypha and Trevor must be screaming their heads off back home wondering where he's gone. 

"No."

The king looked absolutely confused, whether it'd be his refusal, or the fact that he's actively challenging him.

"Pardon?"

"I said no."

This was the first time he had spoken at all in front of the court and there were mixed reactions from everyone present ranging from surprise, confusion, even anger. The once cocky heroes looked baffled, with the one named Motoyasu verbally stuttering out a "what?". The king himself had a look of confusion still on his face, but his eyes spoke of annoyance at his insolence. But maintaining appearances was more important to him so his next question had a much kinder tone than what he was truly feeling.

"What do you mean by no? Is there a problem?"

"I understand your plight but I cannot fight for you. I never asked to be summoned here and I must ask to be returned home immediately."

The king quickly dropped any illusions of pleasantry at that moment and snapped back at him. "Why is that? What could possibly be more important than the fate of our world? And who are you to demand such a thing?"

He held his head up high as he stepped forward with fire in his eyes. If he finally wanted to know who he was then he was going to get it. "I am Adrian Fahrenheit Tepés, Known to the Wallachians as Alucard, the sleeping soldier and defender of humanity. Age 19." He said that last part to be a bit cheeky. A sort of reflection of the other heroes' introductions.

He would have to choose his next words very carefully. While he wanted the respect of the court he did not want them to outright fear him in case of panic or retaliation. It was even more important to get his point across as to why he couldn't stay.

"My world is already under constant threat from all manner of monsters and demons. They wish to snuff out the entire human race or turn what's left of them after mass slaughter into nothing but slaves. The people have no means to defend themselves as all those who could have fought back have long since passed except for me and my companions. We are the last line of defense for humanity and I know they cannot fight without me as I cannot without them. That is why I cannot fight for you. Without my presence my world will suffer."

He gave them a few seconds to linger on his words. The other heroes looked at him in disbelief, as if they couldn't believe what he was saying was true. The other nobles and officials in the room seemed to be whispering amongst themselves. Melromarc on the other hand was silent for the most part, staring him down while he looked to be contemplating something. It was an agonizingly long two minutes before the king made his reply.

"I see that your circumstances are dire but I'm sorry we cannot send you back. We need all four cardinal heroes and only once the waves have been defeated that you can be sent back."

"Why not find a replacement then? Surely there's someone out there who'd certainly want the honors more than me."

He must have said something because he got odd looks from people around the room.

"Legend states that new heroes may only be summoned once all four cardinal heroes perish. Just as that weapon is bound to you you are bound to here."

He felt like he just got slapped in the face or rather punched through several walls again. He was stuck here? This can't be he can't just leave Sypha and Trevor behind to fight in some random war, but if what he is saying is true then...

"My only option is to fight the waves..."

"Yes and we are offering our support to you heroes so that you may fight these waves in the most efficient way possible."

"I see. Then until I am able to find a way home I will offer my services to you. But know that my loyalties lie to my world first. "

As of now there seemed to be no way around the situation. Even if they were lying he still has no clue how to return to his own world or even where to start. So it would seem he would have to play the part of their shield hero, just for a bit at least.

The king looked to be pondering his words for just a moment before quickly brushing it off and pretending nothing happened. "Hm. Anyways heroes you should all go ahead and check your statuses."

'Well that was a quick change of tone. And what the hell is a status?'

The others seemed just as lost except for Ren who looked rather smug despite the attempt at a blank face. "What's wrong with you guys? It should've been the first thing you noticed in this world. Don't you see an icon in the corner of your field vision?"

No he hadn't noticed some sort of 'icon' when he first arrived. He was more focused on his surroundings and mentally screaming to himself. His field of vision was completely clear until all of a sudden a black dot appeared in the lower right half of his vision. There was no such icon there a second ago until Ren mentioned it.

"There it is, what do we do with it now?" Inquired Itsuki.

"Try focusing on it."

He didn't really know what that entailed so he settled on staring at it until something happened because what else could he do.

Something quickly flashed across his vision leaving behind a strange floating image in front of him. It was semi transparent with various abbreviations with numbers next to them which he had no idea how they correlated. In summary:

He didn't know what the fuck he was looking at. 

The only thing that immediately made any kind of sense was the equipment section. That was blatantly obvious at least listing everything he had on him. Small shield, otherworld clothing, Alucard's Heirloom sword.? Not what he would call it but he doubted he could change the label. 

While he was completely baffled at the 'status menu' the others were a lot more calm, seemingly familiar with. He didn't quite understand what a lot of these numbers meant or even correlated to but he knew something was wrong with his when itsuki complained about his own stats.

"Level one? That's worrying."

"Yeah, no telling if we can fight like this."

His level looked rather different as instead of only just level one it had more numbers tacked onto the end.

Level 1+60

Max HP: 85+1043

Max MP:30+281

Max SP: 45

It'd probably be best not to mention it. Actually there were a lot of things that would be best not to mention at all. It'd be best to keep as many cards as possible to himself and not alarm them. But currently the most that would happen would perhaps be some jealousy or confusion from his higher level. If he had to guess as to why their own levels were so low he would say it's because those three have never seen combat. And if that's the case then these "levels" log the amount of experience a person has with a numerical based system. 

His own speculation could only get him so far. As much as it pains him he needs to ask what the hell this is.

"What exactly is a 'status'?"

"Status magic, is ability exclusive to the heroes." The old noble from before answered, looking satisfied with his response.

That was incredibly unhelpful.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" Ren questioned.

"You must leave on an adventure to develop and upgrade each of your individual legendary weapons."

Itsuki continued to complain, and his familiarity with all this still bothered him. "Our weapons aren't maxed out already either? This is a bad start."

"Couldn't we just wield other weapons until these are usable?" Motoyasu grinned while twirling his spear, striking a pose at the end and making a big fool out of himself.

"They are usable as long as you're not lazy about learning how to use your own weapon." He snapped. Good god he was getting quickly annoyed with these three.

Motoyasu looked offended but Ren spoke up before he could say anything. "We can just figure it out as we go. Anyways, it looks like we'll have to train ourselves."

Itsuki finally stopped his bitching to agree with something. "We'll have to level up as much as we can."

"Just don't get too ahead of yoursel-"

"One more thing heroes."

He was of course cut off by the old decrepit looking nobleman from before. Because apparently manners were dead in this country.

"It is important to know that each of you will need to recruit and adventure separately. Partying up with each other is unfortunately not recommended."

"And why is that?" Itsuki scoffed.

"It is said that the legendary weapons repel each other by nature. If you work together, it apparently hinders their development.

As he spoke a warning popped up in his vision under the bold letters of 'HELP'. "When two more wielders of the legendary weapons operate together, it causes an adverse reaction in the weapons. Working separately is advised."

Well that sounded like a major design flaw. Why divide up your four heroes up and risk one of them being killed off? He was personally fine with this but it seemed more so inconvenient overall.

After a long period of silence the king seemingly remembered their existence. "The sun is about to set. Rest up tonight, and set forth tomorrow. In the meantime we'll gather the best of the best to form your parties."

He waved his hand and a well dressed woman came to approach their group. "We've prepared rooms for you. Please come this way." She bowed to them before motioning for them to follow her.

For a potential trap they were acting rather chivalrous.  
\--------------------------

Before being taken up to their rooms they were asked if they needed anything after dinner. He tried asking if he could actually visit a library before retiring for the night but he was met with confused stares. Their escort looked uncertain on how to respond like she was never expecting him to ask that.   
"I'm unsure if I'm allowed to take you so I'll have to ask a higher up."

"Why is that? It's just a library."

"Well um you see.. the librarian.. is very strict in maintaining the collection and he doesn't allow just anyone into his collection. Not to mention he has already retired for the night so unfortunately you'll have to wait for his supervision."

She was then quick to move past him and ask the other heroes if they needed anything else for the night. It was obvious she was lying out of her teeth but what he didn't get was why. Unless they were hiding some terrible secret there should be no reason he can't visit something as simple as a library. He doubted it was anything like the Belmont hold or his father's study and it did nothing but raise his own suspicion. He'd let it go for now but it rid himself of the feeling of unease. 

Soon after they were finally escorted down a hallway to their rooms. Four individual bedrooms with two on each side facing each other. He was about to turn in for the night before Motoyasu called out to him.

"Yo dude, meeting in my room!" He hung out of his door way to wave at him before popping back inside.

The other heroes were already filing into his room so might as well follow suit. Stepping inside, the bedroom was rather spacious but was sparse in terms of furniture or decoration and looked rather nondescript. It had a queen sized bed with no pillows just a quilt and a small table at its foot with some chairs spread around it. The room was illuminated by several candles hanging from a small chandler and the occasional candelabra. It had a large window mirrored by a balcony on the other side.

Alucard and the other heroes each took a seat around the table while Motoyasu stretched out on the bed.

"I guess you get special treatment when you're heroes of legend huh? And the girl who showed us here was a real cutie pie too."

"And our dinner was sumptuous, though it did taste unusual." Itsuki commented.

'Well obviously' he thought to himself but he decided to say something a bit more polite. "Considering this is an entirely different world it makes sense that they wouldn't have exact equivalents to food commonly found in ours."

"That's true." Motoyasu turned his attention to Alucard.

"By the way, that was a real good performance out there in front of the king well done."

He narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by performance?"

"The whole "I'm a high class warrior from another world send me home immediately or face my wrath" bit in front of the court. You practically had the whole room shaking in their boots man. Are you also a theater nerd or something?"

"That wasn't a performance. I meant every word of it."

"Seriously man? Aren't you a bit too old for a chuunibyou phase? I know we're in a game and all but you don't gotta role play."

"You keep saying these strange words and referring to things but I have not a single idea of what they mean." He snapped with annoyance laced in his words.

He looked dumbfounded. "Have I been talking gibberish to you this entire time? I mean, you at least got to agree this place is just like emerald online right?"

Itsuki quickly interjected, scoffing at Motoyasu. "Of course it's lost on him. What kind of game even is that? This place is obviously like the console game Dimension Web, not some obscure MMO."

"Hey! Emerald Online is a mega popular game, you're just out of the loop like Alucard over here."

Motoyasu gestured towards him and he suddenly had the intense feeling of wanting to disappear from existence.

"By the way I can call you that right? I didn't catch your surname and I don't think we're on a first name basis yet."

"I would prefer if you would call me Alucard."

"Cool. And Itsuki you're still wrong."

He looked offended but was quickly cut off by Ren before he could offer any sort of rebuttal.

"Well not like it matters anyways because you're both wrong. It's a VRMMO, exactly like Brave Star Online."

He swore he could feel an argument brewing and started shifting his chair away from them. But he was quickly surprised to see Motoyasu actually trying to diffuse the situation instead of escalating it. He banged his spear on the ground loudly to gather everyone's attention.

"Something doesn't seem right. So let's try sorting out the information we do have. Ren, can we take "VRMMO" seriously?"

"Yeah." 

"You guys get what that means too right?"

"I think a sci fi game I'm familiar with explored the concept." Itsuki replied, meanwhile he responded with "No. I'm completely unfamiliar with the term."

"Ok I'm starting to sense you're a bit of an outlier here. Before asking anymore questions I have to ask. What do you think games are?"

He decided to answer as honestly as he could. "Games are typically activities invented by children or in a more serious context a tabletop game such as chess or various games using a deck of playing cards. But I very much doubt you mean any of these."

Motoyasu grimaced. Hard. Along with just about everyone else present. "Yeah....Just..To check all of our general knowledge I'm gonna ask some more questions and I want you to answer as best you can along with everyone else ok man?"

He raised an eyebrow to this but didn't verbally disagree so he decided to take that as a yes. 

"Great! Now first question, who's the person on the thousand yen bill? One, two..."

He pointed his spear towards them in the place where three should have been said. They all proceeded to tell their answers at the same time and it went as smoothly as one would think.

"Yawara Gotaro."

"Yuda Masato."

"Kodaka Enichi."

"What's a 'yen'?"

It was nothing but chaos from there.

"Who the hell are those guys!?"

"Do all of you live under a rock?"

"What do you mean you don't know what a yen is?? The heck do you use!?"

"There's not exactly a single straightforward currency used but the Florin is fairly popular, and last I checked St John the Baptist is stamped onto it."

From there all asked several questions at a rapid pace from there and each one would garner a different answer each time. Besides himself. He didn't know what the hell they were talking about but they all seemed to have an understanding of what was being asked besides the vastly different answers.

"Which countries won World War II?"

"Who's the prime minster?"

"What websites do you guys use for streaming?"

Eventually it looked like Motoyasu finally came to a conclusion.

"it seems we're all from different versions of Japan, except for..."

He turned to face Alucard once more.

"Alucard do you really know nothing about what any of these are? I mean at least with the rest it seems we're all generally from some version of Japan but you didn't seem to know anything. Not to mention you use some currency not a single one of us knows..."

"Well for one I'm not from Japan I'm from Walachia."

"And that is...?"

Ren held up a hand to interject. "Wait Motoyasu, I think I've vaguely heard about that place in history class once.It's where Romania is now but Walachia hasn't existed for hundreds of years."

"Seriously? And that's where you're from?"

"Yes..?"

His eyes widened for a moment and like that it was as if he had some sort of realization.

"Ok guys one more question for everyone. What year is it where you are? Ready, set-"

"2017."

"2025."

"2013."

"1476"

Everyone in the room was alarmed by his answer. "WHAT!?"

"I figured some of us could be from different eras but you take the cake."

"A 500 year difference is definitely a big cultural difference to say the least. No wonder you didn't know what we were saying."

"Ok either you're the best role player I've ever seen or you're really this noble warrior guy from medieval times. If it's the latter then you gotta tell me your secrets to self care cause damn." Motoyasu vaguely gestured to his upper half.

Ignoring that last comment he focused on the rest of his response. "Do you really think everything I've been saying this entire is a lie?"

He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "W-welllll it'd be awfully convenient...." 

At that moment he thought to himself, 'What would be the simplest but most effective way of getting his point across?' His patience was completely worn and his solution was of course fairly overdramatic but effective. Looking back there would've been many other ways to prove his point but he was very tired of dealing with those three.

He took a deep breath and dead dropped to the floor.

This alarmed the three of them and they called out to him but no loud thump to the ground followed. One of them asked if he was ok but he didn't respond. Instead he started slow clapping and slowly rising from the floor, back completely straight and legs together.

Clap

Clap 

Clap 

In their dead silence and shock his clapping seemed all encompassing.

"Oh yes of course, the moment I arrived in this world I flawlessly started acting out this elaborate persona and backstory so I could start living out some sort of pathetic fantasy. I planned out an entire speech to the court and made up all sorts of tidbits to seem more believable. Well done and congratulations Motoyasu you figured it out." Alucard drawled.

And by the time his small rant was over he was floating a foot over the air. This immediately caused some uproar from the other heroes.

"ALUCARD HOLY SHIT."

"Are you using cheat codes already!?"

Ren didn't speak out so much as his jaw was practically hitting the floor. This was honestly the most emotion he's seen out of him thus far. 

"This is an ability I had possessed long before I arrived here. Have I convinced you yet?" 

Everyone seemed to believe him except for itsuki who would spend a couple minutes frantically searching the menu before begrudgingly accepting the truth. Though he couldn’t help rubbing in the salt in by hovering over a good half meter over his head as he searched. The others got a good laugh out of it.

When the room eventually settled down, Motoyasu continued talking out his ass once more.  
"It's a shame you ended up as the Shield Hero. Bad luck of the draw, huh?"

"What do you mean? What is wrong with using a shield?"

The room grew deathly silent as they all stared at him.

"Oh yeah you really don't know huh. Well never fear big bro Motoyasu is here to help."

"I'm older than you."

"Semantics. And you haven't technically lived those 500 years so it doesn't count. Either way I'm here to catch you up to speed on the basics."

He was not looking forward to any sort of lecture put together by the idiot before him and didn't appreciate being called his "little bro." If this is what siblings were like then maybe it's best his mother never had anymore children, no matter how much he pleaded as a child.

"Ok so first I'm gonna give you a quick rundown on what video games are. I consider myself a game historian so I'll try to explain it as best I can. They're basically simulated, or at least in this case, fantasy battles using technology that lets you control a tiny figure representing you to let you play in an environment that otherwise wouldn't exist. People tend to play these either for fun or competitively. You getting the gist so far?"

"Sure."

"Cool. Now typically in these games you can play various classes with different weapons and abilities including ones similar to our current weapons. However when it comes to the shield class-"

His expression slowly turned more serious as he finished his lecture. "No high level players play the shield class, only losers play as shielders."

"But why?"

"Well the thing is...shielders tend to have a bad rep because they're super useless. They barely get any abilities outside of being a damage sponge and at higher levels they can't even keep up anymore. Enemies do more damage then they can take and at least in my game the developers never patched it. Plus no one wants to play as support when you could be the one doing the damage."

"And I'm guessing this is the case with both of your worlds as well?" He referred to the other two.

"Yes."

"Likewise"

"Hm. Well luckily this isn't a game and that won't be the case. A shield has many applications when used correctly and can be quite invaluable in battle."

It's been awhile since he has used a shield but he was trained how to use it in his youth. So he was at least confident he wouldn't be flailing around with an unknown weapon.  
However, the others didn't share the same sentiment and looked at each other uncertainty, almost pity. Motoyasu clapped him on the back. "That's the spirit my dude. I'm sure you can make it work."

He scrunched up his face in subtle disgust. "Thank you for the vote of confidence..."

He didn't understand the sarcasm and proceeded to grin widely like an idiot.  
He was completely done with all of this. He doesn't understand how they could act so casual about all this. At some point their conversation turned to how they arrived to this world, or rather how they died. Ren presumably succumbed to injuries inflicted by a serial killer after he tackled them to save his best friend. Motoyasu's death wasn't all that surprising. He had been caught having relations with another woman and was more or less stabbed to death. He didn't quite understand what "cram school" or a dump truck" was but he could at least understand that Itsuki died from some sort of collision on his journey home. When it came for his turn to share he didn't know what to say because...

"To my knowledge I never died to get here."

"...Say what..?"

"Then how did you get here?" Ren inquired.

"My companions had come home from a long hunt with a strange book. We had brushed it off as nothing initially and forgot about it until later in the evening. While we were in the study skimming through the book the pages started glowing. I start falling through the air and next thing I know I'm in some sort of summoning room. That answer your question sufficiently?"

He was met with different reactions. From across the table Itsuki and Ren stared at him with contempt. They were seemingly offended over how he never experienced some horrible death to arrive there. 

Motoyasu on the other hand, was quick to change the subject to something else. "Since you're not from Japan, how about you tell us about what your home is like."

"Covered in shit, piss, and gore. The church is corrupt and everyone is dead or in the process of dying."

"Um...Anything more lighthearted? I mean there has to be something good if you want to go back so bad."

He was silent for a moment, contemplating his answer before responding.

"I do have something worth going back for, it's my companions....Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades. We had just started carving a life for ourselves before I was summoned here. I had fought for so long and lost so much and yet I gained something in the end. There was finally a place for me. And said my place is with my friends."

"Hmmmmm "friends" huh?" He wiggled his eyebrows while giving him a cheeky grin. 

He mentally apologized to Sypha in his head before making a quick comeback. "They're both male Motoyasu." 

"Well. Huh. Guess you swing that way..." he muttered under his breath. "Oh wait! If you live in like the medieval times and you're some noble looking guy do you live in a castle?"

"I certainly don't live in "medieval" times as you put it. You're approximately 300 years too late with that. And to answer your question yes we happen to have the castle grounds, not including the underground hold."

Itsuki quickly interjected with an annoyed look on his face. "So let me get this straight. You're already an experienced fighter, you have your own equipment and abilities you came with and know how to use, you're already used to fighting monsters, and you live in a large castle with party members who also know how to fight said monsters?"

"In quick summation, yes."

He looked down right infuriated to as his face quickly turned an unflattering shade of red. "This is completely unbalanced. You've got a clear unfair advantage over the rest of us." 

"Well if you can find someone to complain to be my guest Itsuki."

Motoyasu quickly moved in to diffuse the situation once again. "Hey hey chill out itsuki. It's only fair in a way since he got the shield. That's practically a full on handicap."

"I suppose you're right on that account." he huffed.

God he's not even the oldest person in the room yet he feels surrounded by children. Really he should be more offended by all the doubt on his ability but ultimately actions speak louder than words. He doesn't have to prove anything to anyone either. All he cares about is leaving this place as quickly as possible. To aid in that objective he has some work to do, and not just simple monster slaying.

"I'm going to retire for the night. If what the king said is to be believed we're going to have a very long journey ahead of us. I believe it's best we get as much rest as possible then."

"Yeah you're right. It's getting pretty late. We should probably all go to bed."

"Agreed. Let's head back to our rooms and get a good night's sleep."

Alucard swiftly stood up and left the room, only giving the other heroes quick glance before heading out. The other two soon followed him out after wishing Motoyasu good night. Finally stepping into his own room it quickly came to his attention the differences between his room and Motoyasu's.

For one it was noticeably more shitty.

The most obvious thing was how much smaller the room was in comparison. It was barely half the size of the other bedroom and in comparison to the ones back home it was pathetic. The furniture was noticeably more worn out; The bedpost was splintered with old age and the varnish long since had faded. Above it there was a window just big enough for a person but not nearly as massive as the other one. The nightstand, if it could even be called that, could barely even fit a book on top of it. There was a door to the left side that presumably led to a bathroom but he couldn't imagine it'd be in a better state.

The state of his room came off as completely bizarre considering how well they wanted to treat their "precious heroes." Although he was starting to suspect a strange sort of bias was in play. In the end it didn't matter how shitty his room was. He wouldn't be using it much if at all tonight since he had other plans. 

Sitting upon the poor excuse for a bed he couldn't help but cringe inwardly. It's sad that a full on bed is more uncomfortable to lay upon than a coffin. Nevertheless he sat there concentrating, fine tuning his hearing for a moment. The heroes weren't quite asleep yet with only Ren currently in bed. In the nearby halls he could hear people moving around and vague whispers of conversation. This was no good. There were still people up and active. It was an annoyance but he could be patient.

He waited a full hour before getting up again, just to ensure the heroes had settled for the night. He could never be too careful for his hearing to heighten. In the distance he could hear the clinking of armor but luckily it was moving away from him. Other than that there was nothing but dead silence to be found. Feeling secure, he crept slowly across the room to the window. 

If they wouldn't assist him then he would find his own answers. Surely there had to be some sort of library or archive within the castle. Slowly he opened the window, preventing it from creaking too loudly. Climbing onto the window sill he did one last check before facing towards the dark skyline. Taking a deep breath, Alucard leapt from the window and a bat flew into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok this monster is finally DONE. Thank you for reaching the end of the first chapter of this bizarre cross over. This was originally inspired by a plot bunny I happened to see a few months ago. At first I thought it was an absurd cross over and then one hour later I had 1300 words written out.
> 
> I figured down here if put some authors notes. I included some Easter eggs, references and head canons into the first chapter. 
> 
> If you were confused on his level stats they're a reference to his stats in SotN. I originally was going to give him level 1 stats from the game but considering how powerful he is in the show and how much lower they would be than the other heroes I decided not to. Instead there are the base stats before the game gets into super hard game+ territory. I didn't feel it would do him justice if he was extremely nerfed from the beginning. Not to mention it'd be fun.
> 
> I'm going to be taking liberties with some of his vampire abilities not really stated or dwelled on in the show. For example the ability to dull his senses to a more human level or heighten them to the standards of a pure blood vampire. I figured it'd be heavily annoying if he had unreasonably good hearing 24/7. Both for him and for plot lol. 
> 
> Thank you so much for getting this far. This is my first fan fic (though I do have a jojo once I technically started first but it isn't done yet.) So I hope you guys won't be too harsh if there are mistakes, but feedback is immensely appreciated! I'm unsure when the next chapter will be out because of college but I'll try to write as much as I can. Also comments and kudos will fuuueeeell me. See you next time!


	2. Hello new world

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After his first night in Melromarc, Alucard is eager to figure out a way home. But as he explores more of the world he slowly learns more about it's culture he also starts to uncover hints of some of it's darker aspects. He also meets a jovial blacksmith in the process. So that's a plus at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for waiting everyone :) I hope you enjoy the new update and have a good holiday!

Finding the library itself wasn't too difficult. It happened to be a floor just below his own and had an oversized window connected to it. Getting in was a bit more tricky since the windows were locked but it wasn't impossible. Switching over to his mist form and slipping in through the crevices worked like a charm. Landing on his feet, Alucard took a good look at his surroundings.

The room itself, while grand looking with its high arches and chandeliers, was horrifically messy. Scrolls were stuffed in between book shelves as papers and quills were scattered everywhere. "Particular about his collection" his ass. They should dismiss the poor excuse for a librarian they currently have on staff. While he doubted they could have someone as efficient as the librarian currently curating over the collection in Castlevania they should at least make an effort in keeping their precious "collection" tidy. 

Moving over to the bookshelves he plucked a random tome and quickly ran into a major problem. He couldn't read a single word. At first he thought it was just that particular one but flipping through several other books he found that they were all the same. They didn't make any sense. The symbols were all unrecognizable and a common root to any of the languages he did know couldn't be found. 

This didn't make any sense. He couldn't understand the king and his nobles just fine. He could even understand the other heroes-

Wait.

'If those three are from a completely different country than myself and the residents of this world than why can they understand me or even the king. For that matter why can I understand them as well despite the fact that they should be speaking their respective languages.' Alucard thought to himself.

He was utterly baffled by all this. Logically none of them should be able to understand him or for that matter each other. So why could they all communicate so flawlessly with each other when evidence should suggest otherwise. As he pondered this, he looked down at the small shield bolted to his arm. 

Since arriving here he never thought much on it besides the strange fact it somehow didn't seem to hinder his ability to put on and remove clothing. Staring into the massive emerald jewel in the middle he swore he saw it glow if only for a split second. In that moment he had an absurd thought. What if the shield had something to do with it? 

He hasn't explored it all too much before beyond a few minutes of reading up on its basic abilities like material absorption and something called weapon trees. However, to find his answer he would have to search through that blasted 'status menu'. For a moment it wouldn't pop up until he remembered he had to focus on the little symbol in his peripheral first. 

The strange menu before him looked to be divided up into various sections. 'Status', 'Equipment', 'Magic’, ‘Skills’, ‘Recipes’, ‘Party’, ‘Contact’, and finally 'Help'. Diving through the help section he found dozens of subsections on various subjects and inquiries. Luckily the list seemed alphabetized and not even midway through the list he found the section labeled "Language". 

ATTENTION:

Your Cardinal weapon will automatically translate any foreign languages to your native one. Vice versa your weapon will also translate your own speech to the listener's own language. HOWEVER any written text cannot be translated for you. You are required to learn any language yourself as apart of the "Language Comprehension" skill.

He couldn't help but sigh. Did everything in this world have to be half assed? From his treatment from the king, to his quarters, to the library, and now with this translator that only did half of the work. He supposed it could be worse, at least there is as a translator in place in general. It could've been so much worse in hindsight.

This still left him with a problem. He couldn't read any of the text in front of him. It seemed like his only option was to manually translate the language himself. However, with no common root to work off of or any sort of reference it made his job significantly even harder. Actually it just made it more annoying than difficult but nevertheless.

Searching around the library he tried gauging what were the simplest texts they had. A children's book would be the most preferable as ridiculous as it surprisingly enough. Since they're designed to teach children how to read they're simplistic and will most likely have recognizable objects next to clear illustrations. If there was any way for a beginner to start learning a language it would have to be with the basics. 

As he opened random books he happened to come across something interesting. While it still wasn't legible it looked to be an illustration of a branching tree. It had dozens of small portraits of regal looking figures, most of which were strangely women. Turning the page he finally caught a break. The branching illustration continued over to the next page and towards the bottom was a familiar looking illustration. It was the old king though he looked like he had seen better days. He lacked the wrinkles and white hair he had in present time and somehow looked even more smug. Next to him was a much younger looking woman with a stern look on her face. If he had to guess this was his wife though oddly she had a bigger and more decorated portrait than her husband. Actually now that he thought about it every woman on the illustration seemed to have a bigger emphasis than their husbands.

Nevertheless he potentially had a lead here. He had a spelling of aultcray's name and if his understanding of the spelling was correct it was a rather straightforward translation process. In some ways it almost reminded him of English with its simplistic spelling and structure. Though he prayed the grammar rules wouldn't be as complicated.  
\----------------  
If the rising sun wasn't a good indication that he had been at this for quite a few hours then the large pile of books in front of him definitely was. At some point he was fortunate enough to find a stack of childrens books stashed far away into a corner. Within a few hours he had an understanding of the language on the level of that of an adolescent. Not too bad for a language with absolutely no basis to work off of, though it still wasn't much. 

At least now he was starting to have a greater grasp of this country's history and culture. Apparently it was a matriarchy, meaning the king was second in command to his so far absent wife. The country was also named after the royal family itself, rather narcissistic in his opinion but in the end it wasn’t really important. He was about to continue further into a text about royal politics of the last few decades when he heard the jangle of keys falling and an old man cursing.

Alucard's eyes widened. Shit. He didn't expect anyone to be coming so soon. He looked to his own pile of materials and cursed to himself again. He didn’t know if he could put everything back but he had to at least try to cover his tracks. Also, there was a good chance that the librarian wouldn't even notice in the midst of all this mess and clutter. He quickly gathered his collection of books and scrolls into his arms as his form began to glow. In an instant his body became a red blur, bouncing around the room faster than the human eye could track. He vaguely remembered where everything belonged but time was of the essence. He couldn’t afford to raise suspicions by being caught in their locked off library. The moment he stopped warping he could hear the wooden door creaking open. His eyes widened and he quickly made a break for the window, turning into fog. By the time the old man stepped inside all he could see was his usual mess and the morning fog from out the window.  
——————————

He couldn’t help but collapse on the bed once he got back into his room. Rapid usage of so many powers in only a manner of seconds was exhausting. He just prayed that the old man wouldn’t notice anything was moved or shifted and that his scramble to put everything back wasn’t in vain. As he stripped off his coat and remaining gear he doubted that he would get any rest beyond a few minutes. Any respectable castle started their day early with a strict schedule so it'd only be a matter of time before someone comes. 

He would be right in a way but he was quite off the mark on timing. Around 9 am he heard someone knocking at the door. It abruptly woke him up and he felt rather confused about the amount of rest he had gotten. The sun was already high in the sky and shining brightly which was mildly alarming. Shouldn't someone have come for them earlier? The knocking started up again and he heard a female voice speaking.

“Excuse me Shield Hero? I'm here to escort you and the other cardinal heroes. I hope I didn't wake you.” 

“No no you're fine. I'll be just a moment.”

Alucard almost reluctantly rolled out of bed and began suiting up for the day. When he went into the bathroom to freshen up all he found was a small basin of water, a bar of soap and a splintered tub that looked as if it would fall apart at any moment. He sighed heavily, what did he expect. He did his best to clean up with what he had and geared up. He didn't even have a brush on his person and couldn't help but feel frustrated with how tangled his hair felt. With his coat and equipment on him he stepped out to greet the servant sent for him and the others.

Outside his door was a young woman dressed in a modest uniform compared to the noble women he interacted with yesterday and by her side were the three others. To his amusement they looked significantly more groggy and unprepared, as if they weren't used to getting up “early”. It was still annoying how well kept their rooms were in comparison but it didn't really matter in the end. He's had worse. Itsuki and Ren seemed completely out of it a half dazed while Motoyasu at least had the courtesy to greet him. “Yo, Alucard…” 

“Morning.” He turned to face the servant. “I presume you're here to take us to the king.”

She looked a bit embarrassed as she replied. “Well… not exactly, because you see…”

Apparently the king liked sleeping in and wouldn't be meeting with them until 11 o’clock. Instead they were being taken to breakfast before being escorted to a waiting room until the king and his entourage filled in.

They were being taken to their own dining hall to enjoy breakfast today. The other three threw a fit the previous night about having to share their dinner with lesser knights. They were acting more like spoiled brats than any sort of respectable “hero”. If he had his own way he'd most likely skip breakfast all together beyond a quick snack. He'd much rather do something more productive like gathering more information or exploring the surrounding area. At the moment, figuring out a way home had a higher priority than potentially antagonizing them so he would have to follow along for now.   
\--------------------

Breakfast didn't take too long and before they knew it they were being taken to their meeting with the king. As the massive doors opened before them they could see it was even more packed with people than the day before. Lined up in front of Aultcray were twelve people of various genders dressed in various types of armors and robes.They didn't look like anything special.

“Welcome heroes”

They all bowed in response though Alucard was slower in doing so. The king ignored this, instead choosing to cut right to the chase.

“Now as promised we have gathered various brave warriors who will fight the waves with you legendary heroes.”

He looked over the people lined up once again, most of them dressed up in generic armor to completely impractical clothing. Some of the women were wearing revealing clothing with little or no armor. While in terms of fashion this was acceptable enough, in an environment where you're constantly fighting showing off your stomach or chest was just asking to get hit. For example there was a red headed woman towards the middle with her entire upper half of her chest plate gone and no protection on her lower half beyond a tight miniskirt. One well placed arrow or stab could easily down her easily.

As he looked over their potential future companions the red headed woman caught his eye flashed him a smile. He was not impressed and ignored her. She seemed off put by this but quickly pretended that nothing happened.

“Now, future heroes of this country time to begin your journey! Choose the one you wish to serve!”

This was surprising, letting them choose who they would serve. It's unexpectedly fair in a way that he hadn't expected coming from that man. Alucard watched one by one as each volunteer filed behind their hero of choice, but he was starting to notice an odd pattern. So far no one had even passed him or even made eye contact. Before long everyone was sorted and glancing behind him he found that Motoyasu had four people, Itsuki had three and Ren had five.

And he had absolutely no one was behind him.

Everyone in the room was staring at him with expressions ranging from disbelief to pity to barely concealed amusement.

“I believe there's a small issue your majesty.” Alucard stated. It was all he could really say.

Aultcray looked unsurprised beyond a slightly raised eyebrow and the beginnings of a smile. “I have to admit, I wasn't expecting something like this to happen.”

The minister next to him decided to smuggly chime in. “Not a single volunteer? He really must be off putting.”

He couldn't help but shoot the minister a death glare for that comment and he would be lying if he said he didn't delight watching him uncomfortably sink back into his seat. Luckily the king didn't notice as someone shifted over to whisper something into his ear. Whatever that man was saying definitely negative as he wasn't being very discreet with the look of disdain in his eyes that never left Alucard. The king nodded and brought his attention back to Alucard and the other heroes.

“So there have been rumors.”

“Oh? And what exactly are they?” He was very quickly getting annoyed with all this pettiness.

“Well the rumors are that the shield hero doesn't care for this world and he remains ignorant of its ways and cares not for it.”

He didn't respond to this. Motoyasu looked like he wanted to interject but the king continued to explain. 

“Legend states that the heroes come with a firm understanding of our lands. However, if I'm not mistaken I believe this doesn't apply to you now does it? Not to mention the established lack of loyalty to both this country and the world.” The king gestured towards him with a lazy wave of his palm.

Motoyasu leaned over and staged whispered towards Alucard. "Someone must have been eavesdropping on our conversation last night.” 

At this point he could hear some members of the crowd snickering, no enhanced hearing required. He didn't know why they were so quick to turn against him but he wouldn't stand for this. Were they really upset over the fact that he's never played some so called “videogame”? Do they really value that more over actual combat experience and knowledge? Instead of reacting in offense to his words he instead gave a sardonic smile and stepped forward.

“Just one moment your majesty I wish to test something it won't take long.” He got a few odd stares but decided to go ahead anyways. He was going to prove that all their precious heroes were woefully uncultured. He turned towards Ren first.

“Ren what type of government is the kingdom of Melromarc.”

He looked very confused and only responded with a quick “Excuse me?”

He didn't answer Ren, instead he move on to Itsuki. “Itsuki what are the names of the closest bordering nations.”

Instead of confusion Itsuki reacted in a very offended tone. “How am I supposed to know that?”

Lastly he turned towards Motoyasu. “Motoyasu what is the conversation rate of gold to silver to copper pieces?”

“Ummm...could I have a hint?” He nervously laughed off the question.

In the end, not a single one of them could answer his questions. Seems like his excursion to the palace library was well worth it so far.

“As you can see not single answer so far. For reference this country is a matriarchy as opposed to a more traditional monarchy. Siltvelt, Shieldfreeden, Rockvalley and Zeltoble are the countries surrounding Melromarc and 200 copper pieces equate to one silver while 100 silvers equate to one gold piece. Seems like this knowledge isn't commonly known, a pity. You know I could keep going with these questions. For example what is the structure of this country's military or the state religion-” 

The king's eyes widened and he quickly barked out “ENOUGH.” Effectively silencing the room. All attention was brought onto the king after he loud outburst. Alucard wondered what he said was touchy enough to cause this much of a reaction. Shame that he couldn't prod at Aultcray anymore than he already had. Meanwhile the king just sighed before regaining his composure.

“You've stated your point well enough, and as I've stated already they're merely rumors. They don't reflect everyone's opinion. Nevertheless there is still the issue of your lack of companions.”

“Yes I've quite noticed the uneven distribution.” Alucard turned back towards the others. “However, I very much doubt that they are willing to give up any of theirs.”

Ren made a scoffing noise. “I'm actually more of a loner myself. If any of you can't keep up or slow me down I'll leave you behind.” He regarded his new companions in such a cold manner yet it yielded no reactions, nor even a change in expression. Alucard inwardly cringed at Ren’s words while resisting the urge to roll his eyes at his non answer. Spoken like a true moody teenager.

Motoyasu piped up next. “Well, to be honest, I'm pretty comfortable with my group. Surprisingly they're even all girls! But in the end, it's really not my decision to make…”

Finally Itsuki decided to add his opinion on the situation. “I agree the follower ratio is uneven and that it would be best to have groups of three each, but if we force it against their will it could be terrible for morale.” The two girls behind him furiously nodded in agreement.

Are these three fucking serious. He's literally never heard more asinine reasoning than from these poor excuses for human beings. Whatever, he can work with this. “Then I'm afraid I have no choice but to go alone for now it seems. I'm ok with this outcome.” The others seemed accepting of this except for Motoyasu who quickly stepped in front of him sputtering.

“Wait seriously?? You only have a shield on you man you could really get hurt out there.”

Ironic coming from the man who desperately wanted to keep every single member of his budding harem. “I've fought by myself before, I assure you I will be fi-” He was cut off by a female voice emanating from behind Motoyasu.

“Sir Spear Hero!”

Glancing behind Motoyasu he saw it was the red headed woman again. He had a better look at her now that she was closer. She had bright acid green eyes and a fancy blouse with a choker on her neck. Over top of that was leather armor that still left the entirety of the upper part of her chest exposed along with matching leather gauntlets. She had a royal purple skirt with belts strapped over top to support the scabbard for her short sword.

She stepped forward into the forefront and grabbed the attention of everyone in the room. She put on a gentle smile as she put a hand on her chest.

“Would you allow me travel alongside the Shield Hero?”

This shocked everyone in the room. Almost everyone. The king strangely didn't react at all to this, meanwhile Motoyasu was stuttering over his words in shock. “Really?? Are you sure?”

With all the resolve she could muster she responded with a simple but clear “Yes.” She turned to Alucard for some sign of approval. Instead she received yet another blank stare.

“Apologies but I'm afraid I will have to decline.” 

She stopped in her tracks and had a blank expression on her face. “Eh?”

He didn't trust that woman or this situation. The look in her eyes was frankly off-putting and everything about her seemed false. Not to mention the look the king was giving the both of them was suspicious as all hell. Beyond that he had to ask himself, what would she gain by spontaneously deciding to join up with him when just a minute ago she avoided him just like the rest? It didn't make any sense. 

And as he looked at her he couldn't help but think back to that story book and the meddling princess. There were already four heroes so what if the princess showed up as well? Her clothes stuck out from every other volunteer due to its high quality, every other Hero had simple clothing and armor but hers looked custom tailored. The way she held herself in comparison was different as well. If she somehow wasn't royalty than she at least had to be some sort of nobleman’s daughter. Either way, better safe than sorry.

“It's as they've all stated, it would be unnatural and unfair to take any of you away from your hero of choice. I don't wish for you to accompany me out of guilt or pity either. And as I was saying I assure you all that I will be fine on my own.”

The king looked highly offended by his answer and he stared down upon the Shield Hero. “How dare you...” he growled.

“A lady has offered to become your companion out of the goodness of her heart how could you deny her!?”

That rat bastard. He's trying to make him look bad by disrespecting a woman. Though what he doesn't quite understand is why he's doing this. Nevertheless he's not going to let this stand. 

“I don't wish to take her away from her first choice that is all. I respect that she volunteered to help me but I'm worried how her morale could take a hit by traveling with me instead. And I'm sure I can find my way well enough on my own.”

They had a long staring match before the Aultcray conceded and slunk back into his throne. “I see your point and I accept this. But just to make sure I will ask this. Is there anyone who wouldn't mind going with the Shield Hero?”

The room was dead silent beyond a few people whispering on the upper levels of the court. As he looked out into the small crowds he couldn't help but notice a few people clutching what looked to be a cross. Except, their crosses looked wrong; they had too much decals and details on them to be a proper cross. He also very much doubted Christianity existed in this world. He's had enough persecution from the church already he doesn't need two worlds worth.

If only Trevor and Sypha were here too, then he wouldn't have to be alone in this foreign world. Though it's probably for the best that someone is left to defend the castle in his stead. Besides he's sure he'll be home soon enough one way or another. It's also for the best that he doesn't travel with that woman as well. He knows a trap when he sees one.

“I suppose we’ll have to take other measures then. Alucard, you have to be responsible for recruiting a party for yourself. Every month, we shall provide each hero with the funds that require. This time Alucard’s payment will be higher than the others.” He raised his hand and several servants moved towards each of the heroes with a small bag in their hands.

“Here are your initial funds. Please accept them.”

On his signal each servant walked towards the heroes and handed them a small pouch filled with coins. Alucard noticed the extra heft his bag had in comparison to the others. He guessed he appreciated the extra money though, he couldn’t help but question why a bigger bag was already prepared ahead of time for him.

“Alucard will be awarded 800 silver coins and the others shall receive 600. Use this to procure all necessary equipment and set forth on your journey!”

And with that they were dismissed for the day. Most of the crowd quickly dispersed while all the heroes and their companions were filed into a neighboring hallway for introductions and instructions.

While each party got acquainted with each other Alucard stood off to the side. Once this was all done he could finally start exploring the outside world and figure out a way home. Or at least what the hell was up with this place. He was well on his way to dozing off until Motoyasu excused himself from his new party and strolled up to him.

“Hey, are you really going to be okay all on your own? After all, all you have is a shield. Oh and your long sword too I guess.” He pointed to the sword that was mostly obscured by Alucard’s coat.

“I've experienced enough combat first hand to be well and fully capable of protecting myself. Your concern is fully noted though.” 

Motoyasu seemed satisfied enough with this answer to hold back any further objections. “I see. Y'know, it's a shame that we can't team up because I'd live to have you in my party. I'm sure we would've been an unstoppable team. Also thank you for respecting me and my group back there though I'm surprised you said no. I'm sure you would've been able to take care of her.”

Voicing his suspicions to him would be a terrible idea as Motoyasu didn't seem to be the type to keep a secret. So instead he would give a sickeningly sentimental response since he would probably resonate with that better . “Admittedly I can only see myself fighting with my own companions so I'm not exactly ready to accept someone out of the blue just yet.”

“Loyal to the end. I can respect that my dude.” Motoyasu clapped Alucard on the back and flashed him a big smile. “I wish you the best of luck out there.” And that was the end of their conversation ...or at least so he thought. Motoyasu still seemed to be lingering as his focus was pulled to Alucard's face.

Alucard raised an eyebrow “Is something wrong?”

This seemed to quickly knock Motoyasu out of his trance. “Ah nothing I just noticed now your eye color. I've never seen actual gold colored eyes besides cheesy contacts before. But, different worlds and all so maybe I shouldn't be so surprised. Hell I've seen some crazy hair colors today and I doubt they have hair dye here.” 

Motoyasu scratched the back off his head and laughed it off. Meanwhile Alucard could only think of two words. Ah shit. He doubted anyone in this world would recognize his eyes as a sign of his vampiric heritage but he was not taking any chances. He’s had too many close calls during his journey from Gresit to the Belmont hold and even during his childhood. Unfortunately it's much harder for him to hide something like his eye color in comparison to to his teeth and it only takes one suspicious villager to whip up a mob. But luckily for him this fantasy world seemed much more lenient on the features a person's appearance can have. He can play this to his advantage.

“My world is rather...varied when it comes to potential genetic combinations, just like this world. For example the king appears to have violet colored eyes, and I've passed quite a few people with similar cases.”

“Wait seriously?? Man, I must be unobservant as all hell. Anyways I'll get out of your hair for now. I think we're going outside soon.” And with that he finally left to rejoin his party who all seemed annoyed at the lack of attention. Almost all of them. In his peripheral vision he noticed that woman staring at them during their conversation, no doubt trying to eavesdrop. At some point maybe he'd catch her name but he'd rather be caught dead than actually ask.

A few minutes of waiting later a guard dressed in heavy armor announced that they were to be escorted to the drawbridge that connected the castle to the nearby town. ‘Finally’ he thought to himself.   
\------------------------

Their now large group was escorted through several tunnels and passages for quickest possible route to the drawbridge. Alucard decided to stay more towards the back of the group in case anything went wrong. He also didn't want to be anywhere near that red headed woman again. Eventually they were greeted by blinding daylight and a clear blue sky. Also a very large set of stairs leading up to the bridge exit. Trudging up the stairs was painfully slow as the other heroes quickly got winded. It got to the point where the other three soon joined him in the back of the herd and he had to further slow his own pace.

He soon became lost in his own thoughts as he mindlessly climbed the stairs at a steady pace. It was to the point where he didn't even notice a majority of them had reached the top until he heard Motoyasu call out to him from above.

“See you later, Alucard.”

He looked up to see all three of them looking down at him. Itsuki looked the happiest out of the bunch which was mildly alarming considering he's been pissy the entire time.

“It's sad we can't help you at all, but good luck with your recruiting.”

Ren was the last to say anything. “See you again when the time comes.”

“Thank you.” They took this a their que to leave as they climbed the last few stairs and disappeared from view. Alucard was soon to follow and he was admittedly relieved to finally be outside the castle. It felt overly stuffy in there and he couldn't help but feel tense every time he was in front of the court. As he passed through the bridge he finally got his first good look at the town.

He had seen the town briefly through the windows but it simply couldn't compare to actually walking through it. The architecture of the various buildings and townhouses looked familiar yet so different with its red clay roof tiles, white walls and dark wood accents. What amazed him was the thick crowds of people filling each and every block to the brim. He hadn't seen a town this dense with people and intact buildings since before his father's war. There were mothers happily walking around with their children and old men going on strolls. It was a calming sight to see, humanity prospering so well, even if it was in another world. Alucard smiled to himself as he continued on his way.

Most of the crowd was headed towards the same way he was. Alucard soon found out why as he found himself in the middle of a busy market chocked full of merchant stalls and shoppers. He watched as a massive lizard like creature parted through the crowd. It almost looked dragon like with three massive horns protruding from its skull and the vibrant blue and yellow coloring of its scales. Saddled upon it was a nondescript looking noblewoman and the man in front leading her mount was-

Alucard almost did a double take as they faded into the crowd. That man almost looked as if he had cat ears of all things. He wasn't sure what he saw but for now it sure didn't matter. He assured himself it was probably just messy hair and continued onward with his walk through the market. 

The stalls were each filled to the brim with all kinds of goods for sale from various kinds of produce to fish and other kinds of meats. He couldn't recognize some of the fish offered and he couldn't begin to determine where the other meats came from. Not to mention a good amount of the fruits and vegetables being sold looked completely foreign to him. To be expected from another world though, this might prove a problem in the future if he wants to cook anything or make medicine. One stall he was passing by had a woman holding her hands over a basket of eggs. Soon her hands started glowing a bright blue as some sort of glyph floated over the basket. His eyes widened at the blatant disregard. ‘Magic? In the middle of a busy square? What is that woman thinking!?’ He braced himself for a scene but his alarm was quickly laid to rest as the glowing stopped and multicolored birds burst from the eggs. Instead of a screaming crowd there were polite claps and the woman smiled contently. 

The tension eased from his body. From the nonchalant reactions from everyone else around him it seemed like magic was common place here. He was envious in a way, especially for Sypha. Here she would never have to worry about being declared a witch and burned at the stake. Maybe if she was here she could freely learn all the magic she wanted instead of scouring dusty libraries and old stories for scraps. His face turned into a slight frown as he thought of his companions. ‘I'll be home soon enough, I swear to you.’

Continuing his walk through town the market stalls slowly faded away, being replaced by various shops and hanging signs. A large majority of the signs had nothing but large symbols emblazoned on them. 'Good for certain people who can't read..'

One such sign managed to catch his eye, it had nothing but a sword carved into it. Looking to to the shop the sign lead to he could see a smaller one pinned above the entrance. His transition was a bit dicey but it roughly read "Erhold's weaponry shop." While he felt he was fine with the equipment he currently had on him he was curious to see what kind of wares a weapon shop from another world could sell.

Even in the lowlight of the shop he could see that every square inch of the shop from the walls to the floor were covered in goods. Various shields hung directly on the wall while several freely standing racks displayed dozens of swords. There were even a few mannequins displaying full sets of armor. 

"Welcome!"

A voice bellowed from the back of the shop. Turning his gaze from the many weapon racks he found himself staring at who he presumed was the shop owner. Besides a darkly colored beard he was bald and had a very muscular frame. He was wearing nothing but a simple tunic and a leather belt with several pouches and pockets. 

"Is this your first time in a weapons shop? Cause if so you sure know how to pick em."

"It isn't my first time but it has been a while. Though if you go into technicalities this is my first time in a weapons shop from another world."

"Another world? Could you be..one of the heroes?" He gave Alucard a quick once over. His eye caught his shield and he bent over the counter slightly to get a better look at it.

"Ah I see you've got a shield. You must be the dud then.” He had a look of sympathy that Alucard didn’t appreciate one bit. It just served to annoy him. “At least I can see you already have a blade on you. That's good."

Alucard resisted the urge to groan and tried to remain as polite as possible. Emphasise on try as he couldn't help the traces of annoyance that seeped into his voice. “I really don’t see why the shield is by any means a ‘dud’ as you put it. And quite frankly I’m already sick of people whining about it left and right.”

The shopkeep didn't lose his upbeat attitude and was quick to respond apologetically. “Sorry to offend you. Personally I don’t care what kind of weapon you got as long as you’re a regular. Don’t exactly want to start our relationship off on a bad foot so as an apology ill offer you a discount on your first purchase.” He stuck his hand out. “Nice to meet you Shield Hero!”

The jovial nature of his response was unexpected but in the end a merchant was a merchant. Dedicated to generating good business to the bitter end. He relaxed and shook the other man’s hand. “Nice to meet you as well. You can call me Alucard.”

“Alucard eh? Works for me!” He laughed heartily before talking once more. “So what can I do for you today?”

“I didn’t come here for anything in particular. I was just curious how weapons here differed from the ones found in my own world.”

The owner brought a hand up to his face. “Hmmmm. Here wait one moment.” He moved from behind the counter and began collecting various swords displayed around the store. He laid them out on a nearby table and motioned from Alucard to take a look.

“Left to right and ascending in order of cost you got standard iron, magic iron, magic steel and silver iron.”

“What are the differences between each blade?”

Well for starters, iron is rather self explanatory it's just your basic metal. Magic iron and steel have the benefit of enhancing any spells you happen to be using at the time by a small amount. Obviously magic steel has a higher percentage over magic iron. Silver iron has a small holy buff and is especially useful against wave monsters. No doubt that’s going to be a top seller soon enough. Not to mention each one of them has a coating of BloodClean.”

“BloodClean?”

“It’s a special coating that makes blood and gore slide right off the blade. Keeps it from going dull and makes it so you don't have to manually clean your weapon every time.”

“Fascinating. Would it be possible to have my own blade be treated?” Something like this could be beyond useful in the coming battles. Not to mention if he could keep the treatment on his blade once he returned home he would never have to sit and clean his blade for hours again. Trevor would be so jealous.

“Sure I could give it a try. Mind if I take a look?” He pointed to the long sword hanging off of Alucard’s hip.

“Of course.” Strangely, while he was unhooking his sword he swore he felt it buzzing under his hand. He paid it no mind as handed over the sword still in its scabbard over to the owner, he was sure it was nothing. 

The owner hadn’t expected it to be as long as it was and was struggling to slide it out of its scabbard. “Jeez kid can you even use this thing?” It’s obnoxiously long even for a long sword.”

“I've gotten used to it.”

“A huh.” He eventually settled on setting on a table first then sliding it out. The relieved look on his face when he finally pulled it out was almost comical. From one of the pouches hanging off his belt he pulled out a small eyeglass. At first Alucard was confused as to what kind of purpose it would have but he quickly got an answer as the small glass began glowing brightly.

“Just what kind of blade do you have here? It’s like a pure silver blade but way more buffed than it should be. And I’m reading some really unfamiliar magic here. I honestly don’t know where to begin with this, hmmmm.” He seemed to get lost in his own thoughts as he examined alucard’s sword further. It was at this time that Alucard thought that maybe he should learn the man's name instead of just addressing him as the shop owner.

“This might be a bit out of nowhere but it just occurred to me but I don't even know your name.”

“Oh” He laughed and took his attention towards Alucard. “It’s Erhard. And i'm just about done with that blade of yours a real interesting piece. Id ask if i could buy it off you if I didn't already know your answer.”

“Wise decision.” Alucard could certainly appreciate the man's good humor. Better than that court made up of some of the most stiff individuals he’s met in years.

“That shield of yours, mind if I take a look at it as well?”

He nodded and motioned for Erhard to approach. It was awkward to have to have him come over and examine it while it was still attached but there was nothing he could do. This didn't stop Erhard from trying to pull it off and failing miserably.

“Does it even come off?” Erhard exasperated 

“Unfortunately, no. I've tried.”

Erhard grumbled something under his breath that sounded like several curse words and continued his analysis. “Well at first glance that shield of yours looks to be rather standard for a small shield. I can sense a great amount of power in it but either ive become rusty or my appraisal magic just isn't telling me much about either of your weapons.”  
Apologies for wasting your time.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. You showed me something interesting so it was well worth my time. On another note I can treat your blade with BloodClean, though it will take a few hours for it to set in after I treat it so you’ll have to leave it here.”

“That might be a slight issue as I was hoping to visit the outskirts of town. I was informed that basic monsters lurked in the fields and it was recommended to all the heroes that we become as they put it “familiar with battle and the enemies of this world.” Really he gave less than two shits about what they suggested but he was trying to get a basic idea of what this world was like. Getting an idea of what he’ll be up against would be crucial for how he proceeded in the future.

“How about you drop your blade off here once you're done for the day? Would that work for you?”

“Possibly. I'll try to stop in later this evening.”

“Great! And while you're here can I interest you in some armor? Since you're heading out into the grasslands and all.” He flashed Alucard a wide grin that was too genuine to call a shit eating one but too ridiculous to be anything other than some kind of joke.

For the first time since arriving in this world Alucard found himself laughing. It wasn't nearly as loud or boisterous as Erhard but it was there. ‘Merchants will be merchants through and through.’  
\--------------------------

Alucard left the shop in a better mood than he came in with and about 150 coins lighter. He was reluctant to part with his coat in favor of a set of even light armor. After going back and forth they compromised with a light chainmail and a small leather chest plate that easily fit under his coat. He also went ahead and prepaid Erhold for the BloodClean treatment on his sword. With good timing and some luck hopefully he can drop it off before he packs up for the night.

It took nearly an hour of walking but soon Alucard found himself in rolling green fields and nearly a mile away from civilization. For what could be called just a simple field to most people was utterly breathtaking to him. Lush greenery like this simply didn't exist in supernatural war torn Wallachia. Or at least anymore. Everytime Trevor Sypha and he passed through different villages and towns on their way to the Belmont hold it was almost always the same thing. Smoldering remnants of buildings, dried puddles of blood, decaying bodies everywhere and scorched earth. Simply put, it was hell on earth. So seeing clear blue skies and green grass stretching far beyond the horizon instilled such a sense of beauty and peace. If he wasn't aware that this world was being invaded by inter dimensional monsters he would be jealous of how prosperous everything appears to be in comparison to his own. 

While they were being escorted to the town a couple of the guards mentioned that monsters infested the fields outside of town and how they would be a good starting point for all of them. It would seem that most of them had heeded this advice as he could hear Ren’s group fighting on a hill above his own location from a short distance. If he really strained the limits of his default hearing he could somewhat hear Motoyasu’s group in the far distance to his left. He could hear more showboating than actual fighting from that direction so it had to be him.

Walking further into the hills Alucard was beginning to question if those guards were correct as he encountered nothing so far in these supposedly ‘monster infested’ fields. These thoughts were quickly dismissed as he saw several lines of fast movement through the grass. ‘Finally some action’. As he slid his sword out of its scabbard he could feel a slight stinging pain. Alucard paid no attention to this and focused on the soon to be battlefield.

Popping in and out of the grass he could vaguely see what looked to be small angry orange orbs..? Charging straight at him. He readied himself with a familiar stance, adjusting for the added weight of his new shield on his arm. In the corner of his eye he could see ren swatting at the things with his sword as if it were a club. While it looked like he was managing to kill whatever those things were his form was absolutely terrible. What was worse was how impressed those followers of his looked. Alucard shook his head and brought his attention back to his own fight.

While he wasn't paying attention those creatures had made their move and tried to pounce on him. The little buggers were fast but a quick shove from his shield had them bouncing away once more. Alucard scanned over each creature and tried to line up his sword swipe so that he could end them all in one go. At this point his hand felt positively on fire as pain inexplicably crackled over his knuckles. It was like something was forcibly trying to rip his sword out of his hand. This didn't matter to him as he wasn't going to fall for such a simple trick, assuming it was some sort of attack from those tiny things. 

When he finally made a swing towards these strange creatures a flash of light consumed his vision accompanied by loud CRACK. His blade went flying out of his hand and sunk into the ground ten feet away. Alucard couldn't help but gasp loudly in pain. It was as if lightning had struck his hand. The smell of ozone filled his nostrils and his ears were ringing incessantly to the point of giving him a headache.

“What the fuck…” Alucard hissed, holding his hand close to his body. What kind of attack was that? He couldn't understand why it focused only on his hand of all places.Then a message flashed in his vision.

CAUTION

Legendary Weapon Rule Violation: Holding non assigned weapon.

What?

The message continued.

HELP:

A hero may not hold, with the intent to fight, any weapon other than their assigned legendary weapon.

“What!?” He angrily yelled.

“Alucard are you alright?” He could hear Ren running over to him from the distance. His companions stayed were they were watching as their leader ran off towards the downed Shield Hero. 

Alucard was too busy reeling in shock to react to him though. If he was reading this correctly he wasn't allowed to use his sword. What kind of bullshittery was this!? It made no sense to force your so called last hope to only use one weapon type. It eliminates any sort of versatility or variety in battle. But the more obvious detriment was how it didn't allow the primarily defensive weapon to do anything but defend from attacks. Oh god what if this restriction applied to his all of his powers as well? If that were the case he'd be completely unable to do anything offensive and defending against attacks could only work for so long. This would just completely fuck over the Shield user. Why would it be designed this way?

While Alucard was debating with himself the monsters came back, this time surrounding him in all directions with greater numbers. They all waited, slowly closing in on him. Then the biggest one of them jumped at Alucard, and the rest soon followed suit. Alucard quickly reacted, blocking one orange ball after another. A few feet away, he spotted his sword still sticking up out of the earth. He focused on it, hoping it would heed his call. To his relief, he could feel the weight of his sword being tugged out of the earth. Alucard smirked, dodge rolling past a couple monsters while blocking a couple more. 

He willed his sword to return to him but not before ending his pest problem. The creatures all lined up again to pounce on him, this time choosing to go all at once to overwhelm him. In the split second that they were in the air his sword quickly whizzed past him and swung around in a circular fashion.

By the time Ren finally arrived to give him aid there was no need. There was a soft swishing sound before everything stood still. The monsters seemed to hang in the air for a moment before over twenty of them all popped at once. As their remains slowly rained down upon the earth Ren could see Alucard in the middle of it all with his sword floating right beside him. He had both a look of awe and confusion on his face but Alucard didn't see this.

Instead, Alucard looked at all the orange remains then back at his sword. 

Ok. He could work with this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas my dear readers! I'm happy to present to you chapter 2 finally! I'm sorry the wait was so long but I can promise you I enjoyed writing it. Speaking of which I wanted to ask for guys for your opinion. Would you prefer longish 8-9k chapters or shorter chapters 3-5k ish chapters for faster updates? Either option is fine by me!
> 
> I want to thank you guys so much for making chapter 1 such a big success. I was not expecting that many people to read this odd crossover. I especially want to thank you guys for the comments. Without all the encouragement and kind words I don't know if chapter 2 would've happened. And I can't express the amount of joy reading each and every one would give. Seriously my eyes would light up whenever I got the notification for a new comment. Would absolutely make my day.
> 
> This chapter was a bit slower but things should pick up more in the next chapter. and A LOT more after that. Shit is gonna get real. And a lot more fun for me.
> 
> As for easter eggs this chapter I made a small reference to the librarian in SoTN. Btw you know in the netflix series when he glows red and he starts speeding/teleporting around? Yeah there's no name for that power so that's gonna be fun to describe :,))
> 
> Anyways see you guys next time. Comments absolutely make my day so I'll love to see em! Any suggestions or requests for what you would want to see in the story are welcome as well! Happy Holidays everyone!


	3. First sundown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As his first day in Melromarc concludes Alucard finds new challanges and troubles brewing on the horizon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> small tw for non-consensual touching. Very minor but I thought I'd put a warning anyways.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy the chapter. A bit slower but I'm very excited to write the next chapter.

A hush had fallen over the land after Alucard's attack. A few seconds later Ren finally shook himself out of his stupor and stepped towards Alucard. "How are you doing that?"

Alucard, who had barely acknowledged his presence before, turned to Ren. "Doing what, exactly."

Alucard was perfectly aware of what Ren was referring to but he couldn't help but fuck with the poor little Sword Hero. It’s been a very long day for him after all so he had to derive entertainment from somewhere. Not to mention with the false emotionless facade the teen seemed to be going for made it beyond easy to rile him up and crack it. At least Trevor was a challenge.

His non answer seemed to do the trick as the ever stoic teenager before him completely broke character for a moment to exasperatedly gesture towards Alucard, then the orange carnage all around him and then back to Alucard. "At first I heard thunder cracking and you yelling. When I get over the hill I see you completely surrounded. And before I even make it close to you that sword you’re always carrying starts floating in the air and takes out an entire hoard of monsters in one swing.”

“To be fair, I would hardly call those little creatures “monsters” never mind a threat. I believe I could even pop one with my bare hands if I wanted to.”

Ren glared. “That’s beside the point Alucard. Just what kind of ability did you use?” 

“I told all of you before and I will tell you again. In my world I hunted monsters, so it would make sense I would have some skills and abilities necessary to carry out such a job, no?”  
Alucard couldn't give him the full truth and full out lying was even worse. So a washed down version of the truth was the best option. While he was certainly no Belmont he has handled his fair share of monsters and demons well enough on his own.

The pure displeasure was written all across Ren’s face. He looked as if he were about to press on further but a rustling sound in the tall grass stole both their attention. It looked as if another hoard of those strange creatures had arrived. In a split second Alucard’s sword was floating by his side once more, ready to strike.

"Stand back a distance please? I remember being told that if heroes fight together there are 'disastrous consequences'."

Reluctantly he left Alucard’s side as the potential ‘consequences’ of them fighting in too close proximity outweighed his desire to interrogate Alucard. Walking away, Ren shot Alucard one last scrutinizing look before returning to his party. Now that he was finally alone Alucard turned his attention back to the small hoard in front of him. It was an even smaller group than before with only 8 creatures or so. Despite that, the little things were just as angry as before and quickly pounced on him. 

For the next hour or so Alucard fell into a rather simple pattern. He’d block any monsters who got close to him, group them up and end them all in one swipe. Rinse and repeat. At one point he indulged his curiosity and actually caught one with his bare hands. The thing tried squirming out of his hands but it was ultimately futile as Alucard squeezed the poor thing. He was right on the whole “being able to easily pop it in his hands thing”. There was no doubt about that, but the popping sound it made just a few inches away from his face was rather unpleasant and he wasn't eager to do it again.

In the midst of fighting he eventually noticed something. Each time one of those strange creatures popped a little notification would blink in the corner of his eye. 

+1 EXP

Taking a closer look at his status menu finally gave him a name for the little monsters as he looked over the sea of orange remains. “Orange Balloons” they were called. He also found out that for each creature he slayed he would gain these “experience points” for his efforts. At the top of his status screen there looked to be a bar that would track each one of these points and tally them up. He supposed that's how one would “level up” as he's heard the other heroes mention. This also had him thinking about the second set of stats he had. He's already experienced combat before and slain many different monsters, demons, and of course vampires. Maybe that's why his own level was so high already coming in. This world has counted his own previous battles and adventures as “experience points.”

It was at this point he felt that he should stop for the day. He had been battling for awhile and the amount of orange bits scattered around were getting to ridiculous levels. He couldn't just leave it like this and it would take some time to clean so this was as good a stopping point as any. Besides he had an appointment to catch at the armory, and maybe Erhold would know something about what’s going on with his sword.

He scanned around the fields to see that Ren and his party had long since departed and he couldn't see anyone else around him. The sun was beginning to set, bathing the land in various shades of gold and sun kissed orange. Seeing the sky like this, it suddenly hit him. He's been in this world for a full day hasn't he? It's only been one full day and yet it felt like it's been eons. A small sense of dread washed over him as he thought more about his situation. How long will it take to solve the wave crisis? A year? Two? A decade? What will happen to the castle back home? Will someone try to raid it in his absence? Can Sypha and Trevor defend all that land all on their own? And what about their own mission? Surely, they won't put their lives on hold just to defend a dusty old castle and a broken hold.

These questions swam in his head as Alucard cleaned up the remains of the balloons bit by bit. The pile was beginning to grow, and during his sweep he absentmindedly played with the strange stretchy material. He was surprised to feel a tugging sensation coming from the small piece of orange balloon gripped in his hand. The foreign material was strangely gravitating towards the center of his shield, the gem faintly pulsating with light. Out of curiosity he let his hand wander, hovering it over the green gem. The pulling quickly intensified and Alucard let go of the piece of scrap. He watched in fascination as his shield broke down and absorbed the orange remains. It ended with a small notification flashing in his vision.

Orange Balloon Scraps Acquired. 

In tandem to the notification another icon was also flashing in the left side of his menu. Focusing on it he found himself brought to the weapon book section. He hadn't paid much attention to it before as everything was either locked off or blurred out. This time however there was something new. One of the various grey icons began to shine before leaving behind a new message.

New shield unlock: The Orange Shield

Materials still required: 9 Orange Balloon remains.

So to acquire new shields he would have to fuel his weapon with materials picked off of monsters? What an interesting system, to have a weapon evolve with each monster type you face. Turning to his large pile of orange balloon remains he began feeding them into his shield until he received another notification from the weapon book.

Weapon Unlocked: 

The Orange Shield

+2 DEF

He still had a sizable pile of remains left after letting the shield absorb a good chunk of them. It seemed both wasteful and messy to just leave them out here in the field so he supposed he could take them with him for now until he finds a proper area to dispose of them. He doubted any scavengers would eat them and he was in no mood to dig a hole for them either. With a slight reluctance Alucard shoved the rest of the pieces into his pocket, creating an awkward bulge on his coat. 

And with that he started making his way back to the town.  
\------------------------------  
Erhold had his back turned cleaning the counters when he heard his front door creak open. Without turning around to see who came in he spoke out. 

“Looks like you made it back in time.”

“I would’ve been out longer but I decided to cut my venture short tonight… besides obvious reasons.”

This managed to peak Erhold’s interest enough to make him abandon his cleaning and turn around. “Oh? Did something come up?” Alucard looked no worse for wear so he couldn’t guess just off his appearance what was wrong.

“More like something happened. Allow me to demonstrate”

Alucard grabbed his sword and quickly unsheathed it, holding out for Erhold to see. In only a few seconds the blade began sparking and was violently jerked itself out of Alucard’s hands with a crack of lightning. Alucard clutched his hand, holding it close to his body as the smell of ozone once again filled the air.

“As you can see I’m having some difficulties with my sword. Mainly that it refuses to be held.”

This managed to shock Erhold out of his usual leisurely attitude into one of worry. “By the gods are you ok?” 

“Thank you for your concern but I’ll be fine. It just feels like pins and needles.”

Alucard quickly stood up straight, only flicking his hand for a few seconds before returning it to his side as if nothing happened. Erhold gave him a quick once over before chuckling to himself. “You're one tough kid i'll give you that. Here-” He pointed down at the floor where Alucard’s sword lay-”let me get that for ya.”

Before Erhold could reach for the fallen sword it swiftly flew into the air, hanging for just a moment before sliding back into its sheath. He looked back at alucard with a look of confusion, 

“How did you..?”

Alucard only answered him with a small grin. Erhold swore for a moment he saw his eyes flash red but he just chalked it up to whatever magic Alucard was using.

“Hm. You’re just full of surprises, huh? So, what exactly was that with the lightning and your sword being blasted out of your hands?

“I was hoping if you could tell me anything about what just happened. I received a message that I wasn't allowed to hold any other weapon besides my legendary weapon. So you’d imagine I would prefer to have a second opinion on that.”

I don’t blame you. Getting stuck with nothing but a shield? I can’t see anyone surviving that long, even a legendary hero.” He chuckled to himself but Alucard looked the complete opposite of amused. In fact his glare alone looked like it could murder him. Maybe he should lay off on the shield stuff...

“I’m well aware that shields are meant to be a companion piece rather than a solo act. But being stuck only using the shield isn't my issue. My issue is not being able to use my own damn sword.”

“I see your point but if I’m being completely honest…” He looked down at the shield attached to Alucard’s arm and back to his sword. “I don’t even know where to begin with this. I can only analyze weapons so much and that shield is just layers upon layers of magic despite looking so ordinary. There’s not much I can personally get out of it. Hell, the legendary weapons haven’t shown up in years so I doubt there’s anyone alive who even knows much about them.” 

Alucard’s expression remained as stoney as ever but Erhold could see the disappointment in his eyes. “I’m sorry I’m unable to help you.”

“It's fine, I half expected this outcome before I arrived. This was more so just a confirmation for me. So thank you for that.”

Seeing him like this just made Erhold nothing short of uncomfortable. “Glad I could help in a way. So what are you going to do with your sword now since you can't even hold it? I could take it off your hands if you want.”

His answer was instantaneous. “No.”

“No? But you can’t even lift the thing without getting electrocuted.”

“Yes, but using that little “trick” of mine from before I’ll be able to fight just fine. And besides..” Alucard looked to the long blade resting now on the counter top with a tinge of sadness. “I would rather not depart with one of the only things I have left of my own world.”

‘That was oddly sentimental coming from a guy like him.’ Erhold quickly shook himself out of his thoughts when he remembered the first part of what Alucard said. “Wait. So you can freely control that thing with your mind? I just thought it was a return spell of some sort.”

“I obviously would prefer to wield it like a normal sword but yes, I can control it with my mind as an alternative. So I will be keeping it, though I was hoping if you would still treat it with Bloodclean.”

“Well you did already pay me so how could I say no?”

Without saying anything else Erhold took the sword from the counter and started moving towards the back of the shop. 

“It should be ready by tomorrow morning so feel free to pick it up when you get the chance. Have a good night and don't go electrocuting yourself anytime soon.”

“I’ll try my best not to. Good night.” Alucard gave a slight nod before stepping out of the shop.

\---------------------------------------  
Not even a second after closing the door to Erhold’s shop he heard an obnoxious voice yelling his name.

“Yoooooooooo! Alucard!”

Grimacing he turned around, quickly smoothing his face out into something more neutral once he spotted Motoyasu running towards him. He was waving excitedly while his small harem was a few feet behind him trying to keep up. Rather then delay the inevitable Alucard instead decided to walk forward to greet him. The other blonde quickly reached him but was winded in the process. So he took this as an excuse to lean his arm against Alucard for support until he caught his breath.

“Motoyasu.” He simply stated, shrugging Motoyasu’s hand off his shoulder.

“Hey Alucard.” He started panting heavily again. “Sorry, I’m just out of breath. Need to do more cardio. Am I right?”

“Sure.” Motoyasu received a just a short and deadpan answer. Shifting uncomfortably he tried to change the subject. The first thought that came to mind was the building Alucard just exited.

“Sooo where’d you just pop out of? I thought all the shops would be closed by now.”

“I had a quick appointment with the blacksmith. Just dropping something off to be treated.”

“Treated huh?” Motoyasu’s mouth hung open as he was about to press forward but he was interrupted by a female voice coming from behind him.

“Oh, I know of this shop. You must have good taste.” 

Motoyasu looked behind himself and stepped to the side to let his party member scoot into the conversation. It was the off putting red headed girl from before. “You know this place Myne?”

Alucard finally had a name to put to the girl. ‘Myne’ looked surprised to have the focus of the conversation turned on to her. “It’s fairly reputable though I’ve never visited the place myself actually.”

“Well it seems like you're in good hands if this place has Myne’s approval.”

‘Sure Motoyasu, it wasn't an adequate shop on it’s own before getting the approval of some random girl who's never been inside.’

So anyways how'd your first day go? You find any party members yet? Or find anything interesting? Personally, me and the girls had a wonderful time strolling around town and fighting these little balloon guys.”

“Besides exploring parts of the local market I spent a good portion of my day also slaying orange balloons.” To accentuate his point he pulled out the large cluster of remains bulging out of his pocket. “I've been meaning to dispose of the rest of these remains but I haven’t found a good place to do so yet.”

“Woah! You must have killed an entire hoard all by yourself. How’d you manage?” Motoyasu’s eyes trailed down to the small shield clinging to Alucard’s arm.

“I did mention before I fought monsters in my own world. And besides these things are hilariously weak. Even popped one in my hands.”

Motoyasu nervously laughed at that, scratching the back of his head in an effort to feel less awkward. “Well I’m glad you're taking care of yourself at least.”

Their conversation quickly entered a lull as Motoyasu didn't know what to say and Alucard had nothing he wanted to say. Myne took his momentary silence as an opportunity to interject on their dying conversation again. “You know sir Shield Hero, you don't have to throw all those remains away. There are quite a few stalls and shops that will take them off your hands, not much but a copper per balloon isn't bad.”

These scraps are actually worth something..? He couldn't imagine what for. Maybe alchemy? But even then he didn’t have any clues as to what they would actually do. If he took her words at face value and he could actually make some coin with just these small pieces of trash then it made him wonder what about other monster remains. “Hmm. Thank you for the words of advice. I will look into this later I suppose.”

“Hey while I got you here, want to come with us? We’re meeting up with the others at this inn in the middle of town and I figured you could come with. Update everyone on how our first day went and all. Not to mention having a place to eat and rest for the night. What do you say?”

He wanted to flat out say no and be done with it. Or better yet go tell him and his entire party to fuck off. But unfortunately thoughts based in logic were creeping in so he had to bite his tongue. The thought of where he would be lodging for the night had escaped him and he currently didn't know where any other inns were. So unless he wanted to hoof it in the wilderness with no supplies in a foreign land when a warm inn was being presented to him it was ill advised to say no.

So, as much as he wanted to say no it was probably for the best that he said yes. With a bit of reluctance he told Motoyasu just that and he immediately began regretting his decision as Motoyasu once again clapped a hand to his shoulder and began leading him forward, blathering on as they walked. Why does he feel the need to touch him?

Behind both heroes was still the party of the Spear hero. They were almost all disheartened at the fact that the Shield hero would be accompanying them back to the Inn. 

Almost all of them.

While the rest of the party was trying to keep as close to Motoyasu as possible Myne stayed a distance back. She instead zero in’d her focus on the Shield hero, and a small grin grew on her face.

\----------------------------------

The Inn, which was also a tavern hybrid, was something that wouldn't be too out of place in Walachia. At least, before everything went to hell of course. It really was just a standard inn with wooden walls and furniture, the room lit by candle light, and barmaids walking around with platters filled with food and drink. The other heroes hadn’t arrived yet so Motoyasu suggested they relax and have dinner while they all wait, not wasting any time flirting with any women passing him by on his way to an open table. On the other hand, Alucard quickly cut across the room to the counter where he assumed the tavern keep could rent him a room for the night. 

The man at the counter took a nervous glance to the Shield on his arm but soon rebounded with an offer for a room priced at 5 silver pieces. Bit pricey, but he could at least stomach it for now. The man even offered dinner alongside so it wasn't a terrible deal.

Soon he found himself sitting at a table close to the stairs with his complimentary dinner. The main course was some sort of fish he couldn't identify with a side of steamed vegetables. He barely got a few bites in before he heard the voice of Myne speaking in front of him.

“Is this seat taken?” She had a small tray balanced in one hand and a glass of wine in the other.

“No it's not-” Before he could continue Myne was already setting her tray on the table and making herself comfortable. Alucard, eyebrow raised and a face crossed between bewilderment and confusion coughed into his glove.

“Shouldn't you be sitting with the rest of your party?”

“Lord Motoyasu saw how you were sitting all alone and I volunteered to check in and keep you company.” She innocently giggled through her hand.

“How kind of him.” Alucard deadpanned in turn, going back to his meal. He was really hoping she would get the hint and let him enjoy his meal in peace. 

She did not.

Instead, she started to try engaging him in conversation, further interrupting his meal and his evening. “Lord Motoyasu told me a few things about you.” She took a sip of her wine.

“Oh? Such as?” He responded, not even looking up from his plate. He was more interested in cutting up his fish than the words coming out of her mouth.

“He told me some things about your world and how you’re a noble with your very own castle.”

He raised an eyebrow and continued with his meal. “And?”

“I just thought it was interesting how similar our world must be to yours in comparison to the other three heroes. I couldn't quite get a handle on the things they were saying, things like MMOs and something called twitter.”

For the first time since he's met her she actually said something that didn't immediately piss him off and he could agree with. Maybe there is hope yet. “Believe me. I'm just as lost as you. At least their three worlds happen to be the exact same county during similar time periods. I couldn't understand half the things they were saying the night before. I honestly thought they were fucking with me at first with some sort of elaborate joke.”

She giggled once before giving into a belt of laughter. Surely it wasn't that funny. “You're too much.” She purred. Myne daintily made a grab for her glass of wine and what occurred next was the most obnoxious attempt at being seductive he's seen in a very long time.

With her lips on the glass she made a show of turning her head and downing the entire glass in the most elegant way she thought possible. She faintly gasped as her shiny lips left the edge of the now empty glass. She looked at him with bedroom eyes, the candle light bringing out the green in her eyes and the red blush on her face.

Trevor sloppily chugging through ale after ale was more appealing than whatever the hell this was. 

“Would you like to drink with me? The flavor of the wine is truly exquisite. I can certainly order a glass for you.”

He didn’t waste any time replying with a hard but polite no. “Thank you for the offer but I’m afraid I will have to decline. I’m not in the mood for drinking. Besides, white wine goes best with this type of dish.”

“True. Though it's really too bad.” She played with the glass “I was hoping to enjoy a drink with you.”

“But why me? I’m sure your Spear hero wouldn’t hesitate to take you up on that.”

“I find you interesting, and I did volunteer to accompany you after all.

“But you also chose the Spear hero first. And I declined your offer, you have no obligation to spend time with me or seek me out.” He rubuttled.

“But I want to.” She reached out for his gloved hand but it flinched away the moment she touched it. 

Keeping an impassive face as he cleaned his table, Alucard tried his best to stay calm and not wring her neck. “I think we’re done here. It’s getting late and I'm retiring for the night.”

He walked away before Myne had a chance to react. He didn’t even bother checking if the other heroes had arrived. He was done for the night.

He quickly found the room for the night upstairs and within minutes of washing up and changing he was slumped on the shitty inn bed falling asleep. Day one and Alucard was already tired of this world. He wanted nothing more than to go home. She was right in that some things about this world were familiar but it was still too foreign to be comfortable. It was too friendly to be his, too strange.

That night his dreams were filled with visions of a once lonely castle being occupied by the two people who loved most.

\------------------------------------

In the dead of night Alucard was suddenly woken by a creaking door. His eyes shot open but he didnt move a muscle. Instead he looked to the wall where he could see the vague silhouette of a figure creeping into his room. He swore he locked the door before he went to bed, why would anyone come into his room? He doubted he had any enemies who wanted him dead on his first day here and it was unlikely it was a maid or worker at this hour.

Interrupting his thoughts he heard a whisper so low that even his enhanced hearing could only hear a sliver. “...Just as idiotic as every other man..” It was too quiet to distinguish the gender of the intruder. They were getting closer and closer, until they reached his bedside. They looked to be reaching for either him or the supplies he left on the nightstand. Either way, he wouldn't let them go any further.

Before their hand could get any closer he grabbed their wrist and was met with a sharp gasp.

It was a female voice that squeaked in surprise. Not just any voice though, it was the voice of Myne. He looked up and saw her face twisted in shock, like a child that was caught in the act stealing from a cookie jar.

“Myne! What are you-”

At the moment it looked like she was mentally backtracking. Going from surprise, panic, acceptance, all before settling on sickly sweet. “Sir Shield hero! You're awake.”

Is she seriously acting like nothing is wrong despite being caught red handed? “Drop the innocent act Myne. What are you doing in my room? How did you get in here?” Oh wait, he didn't care how she got in here. Alucard just wanted her gone. 

“Never mind that. Just get out.” He snapped, shaking his head.

He dropped her hand like a stone and was making his way to the door to show her out when she grabbed his wrist this time. Her eyes remained on the floor.

“I wanted to see you. Alone” Myne whispered.

“I don't think the middle of the night is a good time for that. Leave.” His hand was nearly touching the doorknob. She gripped his wrist even harder.

“No. You see...I want you sir Shield hero.”

Her other hand reached towards his upper torso while the rest of her body shifted closer, pressing against him and- 

She groped his chest. 

And she didn't stop. 

Myne continued exploring his body with no shame, as if she owned him.

He couldn't be more revolted. 

Alucard violently jerked back as if her touch was acid on his skin. “Don't touch me!” He could feel the fangs in his mouth extending, responding to his anger. She jumped at his outburst, slightly curling in on herself out of unconscious fear. If Alucard had a mirror then he would have seen his eyes glowing red with anger in the dark, but in the moment he didn’t care.

He wasn't about to deal with this. Oh no, he was absolutely done. Politeness be damned. Not even halfway through the door his body began to glow. In a blink of an eye he was gone, leaving her utterly confused as to where he went and what just happened.

Alucard made it down the hall to the Spear hero’s room in only half a second. It reeked of his sent so it had to be his. He banged on the door with a fervor, surely waking up not only this room’s tenant but most likely the neighboring ones as well. “Motoyasu!” 

A few seconds passed before a very sleepy, bed headed blond answered the door. “Alucard..? What's-”

He was cut off with an scathing command from Alucard. “Come collect your party member. And for the future, keep a tighter leash on them.”

“What do you mean by that, what happened?” The confusion in his voice was thick. So Alucard decided to spell it out for him.

“Myne. She snuck into my room in the middle of the night that's what.”

“Myne? No, of course she wouldn't do that. She's far too sweet.”

“Then explain why she’s in there right now. Why was she there in the first place? Why was she trying to touch me?”

“I don't-”

“I don't care what you have to say about it Motoyasu I just want her out. Take her and go.”

Motoyasu trudged over to the door to Alucard’s room, seemingly still in denial of everything he heard. That is, until he looked inside and saw Myne sitting there on the floor motionless, her face blank. Snapping out of his shock he tried helping her off the floor and out of Alucard’s room and she didn't put up much of a fight. As Motoyasu escorted her out of the room she looked confused, almost dazed. 

Alucard watched Motoyasu drag her from his room from down the hall, arms crossed and silently fuming. ‘Perhaps she got drunk?’ Alucard thought. That could be a plausible answer as to why she was behaving so strangely. Even so, it doesn't excuse her behavior. While they were on the road Trevor had once told him “a drunk man's words is a sober man's thoughts”. Meaning Myne must have some level of..attraction to him, and that she isn't just the innocent girl her facade would have you think she is. He thought it was just some baseless flirting but this.. He prayed that this would be the end of it but the pit in his stomach said otherwise. 

His room was vacant now but the sense of unease was still there. Alucard didn't know what tomorrow would bring but he could feel the start of a storm brewing. And when he went to sleep this time he dreamt of nothing but darkness and closed spaces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. Irl was kicking my ass with disaster after disaster but i didn't want to give up this project not one bit. And whenever I was feeling particularly discouraged looking at the comments left behind were a great motivator so thank you guys so much. 
> 
> I'm honestly not the biggest fan of this chapter due to it's slowness but it had to be done for the sake of set up and wrapping the first day up. I divided the first episode into 4 chapters so I knew what i was getting into. But man this chapter was grueling at some points. So I hope it wasn't too boring. 
> 
> The parts with myne were honestly some of the worst/hardest parts to write. But it's all for the sake of set up.
> 
> I'm hoping I'll be able to write the next chapter at a faster pace because whooooo boy it's the big one. Shit is about to hit the fan. I've been wanting to write this chapter for awhile since thinking about this fic so I hope you'll look forward to it!
> 
> p.s Super excited for season 3 coming out on the 5th. Beyond hype here. Can't wait to see the trio come back.


	4. The Trial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The consequences of the night before unravel before Alucard and the other shoe finally drops on his otherworldly stay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aka shit goes south real quickly.
> 
> By the way before reading the chapter I'd like to announce this fic officially has a TVTropes page! Thank you InformalFallacy for this!  
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/RisingOfTheSleepingSoldier

Something was wrong. 

Alucard suddenly woke up to the sounds of pounding footsteps and the clanking of heavy armor sets. The sun had yet to even rise and before he could question anything several knights busted into his room. 

“You’re the Shield Hero, yes?” One of the knights asked in a very hostile tone.

Alucard growled. “What is the meaning of this?”

“The king has issued summons for you. You can either come with us quietly or bound in chains.” With that the guards slowly closed in on his bed, as if to intimidate him. Alucard remained unphased by this, choosing to sass them rather than be complacent.

“Were the armed escorts bursting into my room before dawn necessary for just that? I’ll come with you as soon as I get an answer.” Instead of dignifying him with any sort of response the knights instead seize him by the arms and begin dragging him out of bed.

“Do I even get to change? Or are you going to leave me in my nightgown and drag me around like some disgraced maiden-” He didn’t get to finish talking as the same guard who spoke earlier harshly backhanded him. Alucard had to restrain himself from lashing out at the man and ending his life. Instead, he settled for giving him a death glare, his life spared by the other guards holding him back.

The guard looked at him as if he was a piece of shit stuck to his boot, his arm still frozen mid air after hitting him. “Speak again and we’ll drag you to the king in chains.” The knight faced his fellow men “Load him into the carriage.”

Without another word the guards dragged him out of his room to the street below with various onlookers watching from their own rooms. While the eyes of these strangers regarded him with confusion the gaze of the knights spoke a different story as they looked upon him with barely veiled disdain. Soon, Alucard was unceremoniously hauled into a waiting prison carriage and within a minute they were on their way to the castle. And Alucard was left without a single idea as to the trouble that awaited him.

\-------------------------------------------------------

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the castle, and the knights made sure to personally escort him to the royal audience chamber. So meaning they dragged him onto his feet and gave him a good shove every so often on their walk there. Soon, Alucard was greeted to the sight of a packed court with the king, his minister, the other three heroes, their party members and  _ Myne _ of all people. She cowered behind Motoyasu the moment his gaze reached hers, prompting the rest of the court to look at him in disgust. He didn't get too good of a further look before he was thrown to the ground, the guards surrounding him with their spears.

Alucard picked himself right back up and locked eyes with the old king. “What is the meaning of this Aultcray? Just what is so important as to drag me out of bed like some common criminal!?

The king furiously snapped “Don’t you dare play dumb Shield Hero!” His voice rang out through the court. This seemed to drain him of his energy as Melromarc slunk back into his throne, holding his exhausted face in one hand. “Myne, you poor girl. If you would please recount your story once more for the entirety of the court so that the charges against the Shield Hero may be stated.”

‘This is a trial...and it’s Myne’s doing?’

“I-I made a mistake that night. I drank one too many glasses of wine and I stumbled into the wrong bedroom. It was the Shield Hero’s and before I could leave he...he pinned me down against my will!”

‘..The fuck?’

“He said the night was still young and that I belonged to him. He threw me to the ground, gripping me roughly. And then he ripped off my clothes and…” Myne clung to the Spear Hero’s back as she spoke through her fake crying.

“When he was done he went to go fetch Lord Motoyasu to come collect me. I was in shock for a good hour before I told him everything that happened.” 

The Spear Hero was next to speak up. “I knew something was fishy last night and if she hadn’t asked me to wait until dawn to call the knights I would have slaughtered you myself.” Motoyasu spat, acting like a tough guy. He brought the weeping Myne closer to him as if to protect her.

This whole display.. Was utter lunacy. In lew of a response Alucard hung his head low and began laughing. It was quiet at first, growing in volume to a clear hearty laugh. He couldn't help himself, this entire situation was ridiculous. It was a shit cherry on top of a shit cake. He barely went a day in this new world without something going horrifically wrong. The everyone in the room stared at him in either shock or further disgust. The king looked the most furious of all, nearly rising out of his throne.

“Disgusting. What could possibly be so funny about committing the most heinous crime in Melromarc Shield Hero? The penalty for even attempting to assault a woman is death!”

Alucard wiped a false tear from his eye, never losing the grin from his face. “Are you serious? Please tell me this is all some elaborate joke because I’m sorry to tell you all but this entire trial is a farce. No such crime occured last night.”

This infuriated the king. “How dare you tell such a blatant lie in front of the entire court-”

But Alucard was quick to cut him off. “King Aultcray I can assure you. I wouldn’t be stupid enough to lay a hand on a woman in a country where the punishment is death, nevermind your daughter.”

This shocked the entire court, leaving them in a stunned silence. The mere word “daughter” was enough to stop the numerous whispers of the tens of nobles packed into the hall. The three heroes looked more bewildered and surprised than anything but the king and Myne however looked absolutely floored. They looked as if the rug was pulled out from under them and then proceeded to slap them in the face.

Alucard suspected it before but with the two of them in such close proximity to each other it became obvious . While they didn't exactly have the same eye or hair color they had similar facial features and eerily similar facial expressions. The royal relation would explain a lot as well, from Myne’s behavior, her expensive taste, and the pre-prepared bigger budget. No doubt that 200 silver bonus was just for daddy’s little girl. But beyond all else it was their blood that gave it away; he could smell the blood relation coming off those two. He knew the revelation would shock everyone into silence for long enough for him to get a word in. He refused to let this false trial go on longer than it needed to.

“The Princess?-

“Myne you’re?-

“Impossible! H-

“How do you-” The king’s sputtering was once again cut off by Alucard.

“The family relation is quite obvious but right now this detail is irrelevant. I promise you nothing happened last night. In fact, I can easily prove that Myne’s story has several flaws. First, I shall tell you my account of the previous night.” From there Alucard went to recount his side of the story, preventing any attempts from Aultcray or the rest of the court to silence him. He gave each minute detail about their encounter in his room and the events leading up to it at dinner. He almost finished off his story without any interruptions before Myne seemingly couldn't take it anymore, cutting off his description.

“-Contrary to what she was telling you she was the one touching me without consent. I barely even laid a hand on her as I demanded she unhand me, before retreating to fetch her party leader.”

“Why are you lying? I was the one who screamed for you to get away before you grabbed me!” She cried.

Alucard remained completely unphased, quickly refuting her claims. “As I recall I’m fairly sure I shouted at you not to touch me, not the other way around.” Before either of them could get another word in, Ren of all people stepped up, armed raised in the air like a school boy trying to get the teacher’s attention.

“If I may interject.”

Aultcray for the first time in several minutes spoke, not before coughing into his hand and gesturing towards Ren. “You have the floor Sword Hero.”

“I was in a room further down the hall and I remember hearing someone screaming ‘don’t touch me’-”

“See! A witness! Thank you sir Sword Hero” Myne was quick to cheer, interrupting Ren mid sentence. He wasn't done talking and what he said next made Myne out look like a fool. Or at least like the massive liar Alucard knew her to be.

“-However it was a male voice who shouted that. And next thing I heard was who I was fairly sure was Alucard banging on Motoyasu’s door and causing a scene.”

There was a pregnant pause before Aultcray spoke up once more, questioning the young teenager. “Sword Hero, Do you swear that this is what you heard?”

The stoic teenager nodded. “Yes.”

The Bow Hero stepped in to back him up “I can also verify both Alucard’s and Ren’s claim. I was woken up by yelling and when I poked my head out of my door I saw Alucard looking almost distressed while he was banging on Motoyasu’s door.”

“A testimony from two seperate heroes is quite irrefutable” The king grumbled. He almost seemed...resigned saying such a thing. Alucard didn’t focus on this fact for long, as he didnt want to waste any time proving his innocence.

“So you see, unless my story is true there is no other logical way I would have yelled that.”

Myne made a choking noise before hysterically near screaming a comeback. “Maybe the other heroes didn’t hear me that's all! And you only screamed at me after I hit you trying to get away!”

“You fought back? You didn’t mention this detail before” he inquired, eyebrows raised. Was she really going to change details of her story?

Myne was slightly taken aback. “O-Of course I did! And the evidence is right on your face!” She pointed accusingly at Alucard.

“Evidence?” Alucard brought a hand to his red cheek. It was still marked from earlier that morning. “Do you mean this? Is this the mark you left on my cheek?”

“Yes!”

This time he really had to keep his laughter in check. “Funny you say that Myne because this particular mark is from the knight who brought me in over to my right after I mouthed off to him. You can even see the indent from his gauntlet on my face.” He pointed right at the very knight who hit him earlier that morning, putting him on the spot.

Myne was taken aback by this, slightly stepping away from Motoyasu’s grasp. The king on the other hand silently gestured for that same knight to step forward.

“Your majesty.” The knight called.

“Captain, if you would compare your hand to his face.”

“No!” Myne called out but she was silenced with a wave from her father. The ring of guards slightly parted to allow for the captain to approach the crouching Shield Hero. Turning his hand over he put it side to side to the marks left on Alucard’s face and the evidence was undeniable. The knight’s gauntlets had specific grooves that matched the bloody indents left on his fact to a tee. Anyone with eyes could see that and the realization settled heavily on the face of the king. And the look of panic was on Myne’s face was oh so satisfying. Inwardly Alucard was relieved he let the marks stay on his face. Such small wounds would have been child's play for him to heal but he had a gut feeling that he should let them lie. After all, it would be suspicious if the mark healed so quickly beneath scrutinizing eyes. 

“It’s a match sir...” The guard stated before resuming his position in the circle around the Shield Hero.

Alucard took this as a chance to be smug, for just a moment. “I believe I have caught you in another lie mrs.Myne. You seem to be changing around details of your story. I wonder why?” 

Myne remained silent but Alucard could tell she was positively fuming on the inside. The whispers picked up once more in the court. It seemed as if he was creating some doubt in their minds. Finally, he was gaining some traction. All he had to do was keep up the pressure.

“I’d like to point out some more logical flaws in her story as well. I ask any of you, why would I have my way with her then purposely alert Motoyasu?”

For the first time since the trial began Motoyasu spoke out. And of course, it was in immediate defense of Myne. “Maybe you were trying to cover up your tracks!”

“And what tracks did I leave? I let you into my room to collect Myne and did she look as disheveled as she said she was? Were her clothes torn like she said they were?”

This almost left Motoyasu speechless. “No...They weren't but...”

Alucard didn't let up. “She also mentioned how I threw her around before ravaging her. Where are her marks? Her bruises?”

“What do you mean?”

“What game are you playing at Shield hero?”

“I have a point to this. Please allow me to demonstrate.” Alucard in less than a blink of an eye punched the stone flooring, leaving a large impact on the ground and shattering the stone work. The spidering of the cracks reached nearly ten feet in length, allowing everyone to get a clear view of the impact. The guards were obviously alarmed by this and moved in closer with their spears. He could feel the weapons poking his back. However, this only prompted the king to roll his eyes.

“Besides ruining my flooring, what is the point of this?”

Wordlessly Alucard picked up one of the palm stone fragments and squeezed. The crackling sound that came from the crushing of stone echoed through the hall. When he opened his hand nothing but dust and small pebbles poured out. He let the implication sink in before elaborating any further.

“If I had truly laid a hand on her she would have clear evidence of that fact. My grip, by no means, is “gentle”. If I had laid a hand on her just last night then she would have clear markings on her person. Where are her bruises? And before you say anything else, no victim would rid themselves of damning evidence like this if they intended to go to trial. Motoyasu, I need you to answer honestly. Did you ever see a single mark on her?”

All eyes were on Motoyasu and he looked paralyzed from all the attention and pressure. Funny, Alucard thought he would be the type to lavish it. 

Myne looked at him with pleading eyes. “Motoyasu please..”

He looked conflicted. “N-No... I didn’t..But surely it was dark!-”

“Did you see any in the light either?”

Motoyasu’s mouth opened for a moment before clamping shut. He had nothing left to say as the doubt settled in his soul. The same doubt was settling in on the entirety of the court as well. With each piece of evidence Alucard brought up his innocence was becoming irrefutable. Even the king couldn't deny this fact and Myne could see it. She knew she was losing the battle. The king meanwhile looked as if he was ready to throw in the towel and end this joke of a trial before it could embarrass his daughter any further. 

“Myne, you said you were intoxicated last night. Perhaps you are misremembering things…” The old man suggested.

Then she remembered what she saw the night before. In her shock she really did forget something so important. So...  _ incriminating _ . Her mouth curled into a small smirk before she threw herself on the floor, pleading with her father.

“Papa! You surely can't take the word of a monster! I saw it!” She shouted hysterically.

Aultcray sat up in alarm, hearing his daughter suddenly scream. “Saw what exactly?”

The crocodile tears were rolling down her eyes once more. “I saw it last night, when the Shield hero got angry his eyes began to glow a crimson red and he had fangs the length of my finger in his mouth! He’s a beast in the shell of a man and he’s deceiving all of you! Please believe me!”

Alucard was unphased, laughing off her tantrum. “What a ridiculous claim. Trying to save face with a ridiculous accusation are you?” But the king wasn't laughing. No one was laughing. The room was silent and all they did was just stare.

If anyone else was paying attention to the king they could've seen the expression in his face change from grim defeat to one declaring checkmate. The look in Aultcray’s eyes alone were comparable to a starving wolf staring down a wounded rabbit. 

“Guards...Restrain the Shield Hero.” He ordered in a grave tone.

“What are you-” He was cut off by the weight of several bodies restraining him all at once. There was a guard locking every limb. Even his neck was being held back in a choke hold. He could easily throw them off but he knew that would instantly kill any chances to prove his innocence but with how things were going it might just be better to cut his losses. He had just a split moment to make the decision between defending himself or but he was a moment too late as he heard the king give his next order.

“Captain, Open his mouth.”

Next thing Alucard knew a gloved hand wormed its way around his lower jaw with a thumb jammed into his mouth. Another hand was tangled into the blonde locks on the top of his head. With a quick retch backwards and his jaw pushed down his mouth was forcibly opened, exposing his fangs to the entire court. With the quick severity of the action he couldn't stop his body’s natural reaction and was helpless as his fangs automatically extended in length.

The captain quickly shuffled his body aside to allow the best view of his fangs while never letting go of his head. Alucard didn't even need supernatural hearing to hear the gasps of horror and disgust. The entire room was gawking at his fangs. Ever since he arrived in this world he had been so careful not to open his mouth too much lest he expose them but now they were on display for the world. Ideas ran through his head on how he could possibly save the situation and excuse his teeth as something normal in his world. 

Any hopes he had of passing it off were dashed when he heard Motoyasu shout that dreaded word, capturing the attention of the entire room. “ ** _Vampire!_ ** ” He pointed accusingly at the restrained Shield Hero.

The word bounced around the tongues of all those present. ‘Vampire?’ They all whispered, the word seemingly unfamiliar to them. But the other three heroes, they were a different story. They knew full well what a vampire was and the king could see the recognition in their eyes.

“Vampire? Heroes I, along with the people of this land are unaware of just what a ‘vampire’ is. If you could, share any information you have?”

Motoyasu was the first to respond, yelling his answer like an accusation. “They're evil undead creatures of the night who feed on humans and drain them of their blood! They prey upon innocent virgin women the most, stealing them away and turning them into their undead brides!” He shielded Myne with his body at that last part.

“In myth vampires are typically identified by their pale skin and their long fangs. As motoyasu mentioned before, yes, they survive off the blood of humans. It's a signature feature of theirs along with supernatural powers and stereotypically a castle, all of which Alucard seems to possess.” He finished, staring the blonde dhampir down like he was the scum of the earth 

“Yeah! That's why he has a leg up on the rest of us! His powers are inhuman!” Motoyasu called out.

The Bow Hero was next to make a comment. “I'm disappointed I didn't see it before. After all, his name backwards spells  _ Dracula.  _ Not to mention the near stereotypical clothing and the ‘I'm better than you’ attitude.” Itsuki scoffed, as if he had any room to talk.

“Yeah!-Wait his name really spells Dracula backwards?” Motoyasu questioned, while Ren rolled his eyes.

“You guys didn't get that? I figured it out yesterday.” 

Alucard meanwhile was in shock. The three of them...truly were still idiots. While the fact that all three of them from across different worlds knew the name of his father somehow did bother him he could address it later. What was more important currently was the ramifications of what those three were doing. They didn't realize they were playing right into the palm of the king! Could they not see this was a ploy to have them turn against their fellow hero? And by turn the public as well? Could they not see that this was taking away from the true purpose of this trial? He couldn't let this nonsense go on any further but something just nagged him to stay collected and remain as innocent as possible. That thought lasted a hot second before dismissed the thought due to the fact that he was being accused of rape and being restrained by his fucking mouth. How could he stay calm!? The last straw that broke the last vestiges of restraint he had however was what the King asked next.

“What is the significance of this ‘Dracula’ you speak of?”

That's it, this ridiculous parade has gone on for too long. He was not putting up with this disgrace any longer. Public perception be damned.

Even though his mouth was already wide open he still had some room to give. Suddenly Alucard threw his head back, taking the captain and the rest of the guards by surprise. He felt the back of his head nearly smash the nose of the guard that had him in a headlock but he didn’t focus on this. Instead, Alucard bit down as hard as he could on the knight's glove while avoiding puncturing his hand with his fangs. Of course the man still yelped in pain but he should suck it up, he’d live. His next move of action was to free his arms, so he did the most logical thing. He lifted his arms and flung the two hapless guards to the side, violently knocking the flanking spearsmen down like dominos.

Surprisingly, that shield of his came to his aid. A burst of green energy emitted from the small shield, blasting each of the guards back even further until they were all at least 5 or so feet away from him. This finally allowed Alucard to stand proud on his own two feet. The green light of his shield added to his look of fierce determination. The king was far from amused.

“You dare assault my guards!?”

“What? Should I be ok with the fact your men have forcibly restrained me? Or the fact they forced my goddamn mouth open on your orders?” He snarled back.

“I am no vampire.” Alucard growled, fully baring his teeth in anger. “And in case you haven’t noticed one key flaw amongst many in your assumption.” He pointed at the open windows, specifically the rays of sunshine streaming into the room.” The sun is up and yet I do not burn.”

Alucard knew deep down it was a flimsy excuse but he was banking on their lack of knowledge to work in his favor. It seemed that the heroes at best only seemed to only have base, stereotypical knowlege that any bum fuck villager in Walachia would know. Christ Motoyasu even brought up the myth about undead brides. What next? Garlic? Though, their knowledge of the name Dracula was still concerning he would have to deal with it later.

Luckily, the king and each and every one of his citizens looked confused. “What does he mean by this?”

Ren was the one to respond. “It’s a part of vampire mythos. One of their defining traits is that they can’t step into sunlight without burning to death.” He looked back towards Alucard, the suspicion in his eyes returning with a vengeance. 

“But you know Alucard, it still doesn’t explain why your name backwards spells Dracula.”

“I said it on the first day that it was a title, nothing more. And what better name to award the man who slayed him than Alucard..” he bitterly spat out. This was the very last thing he wanted to talk about, especially in front of an entire hall of strangers. They had no right to know anything of his father or any more about him for that matter. 

“You killed Dracula? That's-!” Motoyasu once again shouted, getting on Alucard’s last nerve.

“Entirely irrelevant to the situation at hand. Just like how my physical features are entirely irrelevant to this trial!”

“I think not, Shield Hero.” Aultcray interjected.

The king motioned for the room to be silenced, his arms fanning out, capturing the attention of every rinky-dink noble and bumbling knight. “Vampire or not Shield Hero you have proven one thing to us today. You have lied to this entire court and subsequently the entire country about the fact that you are non human. This is unacceptable. Melromarc offers you it’s support and this is how you repay its people?”

“And still you forget the purpose of this trial.” He remarked sarcastically.

“On the contrary Shield Hero, I haven't. Far from it. Even if you didn’t commit any crimes, how could anyone believe you? The mere word of a demi-human is near worthless in the court of law never mind to the citizens of this land. No one will ever believe your innocence no matter how much evidence you present. The punishment alone for a demi-human being accused of sexual assault is imprisonment for life, if not death.”

Alucard stood there dumbly, reeling from what he just heard. Just what kind of system of justice is this!? This is blatant, unapologetic discrimination. It reminded him eerily of the church and what they peddled as “justice”. What was so concerning was there were non human laws like this already in place in this country. Why? And just what is a demi-human? He’s never heard of such a term before. Did that mean there were non-human species native to this world as well?

Aultcray got a sick sense of enjoyment watching the Shield Hero’s icy expression morph into one of mute horror. “However, you won’t be imprisoned. Despite being inhuman, you are still one of the Cardinal Heroes. Therefore, one of the only beings capable of fighting the waves. So instead I shall sentence you with a different punishment. From this day forth the Shield Hero shall be legally declared as a demi-human, with all the accompanying rights of one. That will be your punishment  _ Alucard _ . You will never find an easy, comfortable life while you are in this country.”

Silence hung thick in the air at the king’s verdict. That is until Alucard harshly broke it. “That’s it...? That’s how you’re ending this trail? Where is the justice?” He questioned, but the king merely scoffed.

“In a month you are expected to return here and fight. Do try to stay alive and actually fulfill your duty.” With that Aultcray said nothing more, waving away at him in a shoo-ing manner. The guards surrounded him once more as if to menace him out of the hall. Meanwhile the room filled with the whispers of the court and Alucard could hear every vile comment.

“ _ It was a mistake to summon all four together _ .”

“ _ Exactly. They never should have summoned the Shield Hero in the first place! _ ”

_ “If only we had known he’d be demihuman scum beforehand. _ ”

“ _ He should be put down for just existing! _ ”

“ _ Shield devil! _ ”

“ _ Someone should rip those teeth out before he has an opportunity to use them. _ ”

“ ** _You should have just let it happen_ ** .”

Wait. He recognized that last voice. It came from-

He looked past the crowd of guards and his fellow heroes and saw Myne looking at him straight in the eye. She smirked, showing the pink her right eye and while sticking her tongue out. She was outright mocking him.That disgusting little wench...She planned all of this... All of this from the first day they arrived! Whatever it was... she gained something today. Even if it’s just his humiliation for the sheer want of it. Well, he refused to let her have the last laugh. For in the end, what goes around comes around. But for now he refused to let her have the last laugh, or any of them. The king, those pathetic excuses for heroes, or anyone in this blasted world.

“Fine. Then I eagerly wait to defy expectations. And I’ll keep fighting anyways, if it means I’ll finally get to leave this shithole of a world faster.”

He could feel the weight of dozens of disapproving and judgmental stares but he simply didn’t care. He was done here. Alucard started making his way out of the room, the various guards parting to let him through. With little effort he violently swung open both great doors but before he left he shot one last remark over his shoulder. “So I hope you are satisfied with making a monster out of me.”

“Alucard wait!” He heard Motoyasu cry, the pounding of footsteps following suit. Alucard felt a hand wrap around his bare arm stopping him in his tracks.

“I have nothing to say to you Motoyasu. You made your choice. Try not to contract anything.” With that he snatched his arm back and thoroughly enjoyed slamming the two doors in Motoyasu’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I hope everyone reading this is doing well.  
This chapter is a bit shorter than the last ones (at 5100 words exactly) compared to my usual 9k average. I wanted to post this now rather than spend weeks more trying to get up to that length and I felt like the trail part ended off well enough for a chapter end. But in turn you guys are gonna be in for it next chapter. Plus with all the virus shit this fic takes my mind off it. And I hope it does for you guys too.
> 
> Slowly I'll be adding changes to canon and I hope you guys enjoyed the trial. It's gonna play a really big part in the future of this fic and I can't wait to show it.
> 
> and I promise a certain character will show up soon. and a certain hunter and scholar. In a way ;)
> 
> Anyways wanted to leave off with one final note. Ao3 has turned off guest hits and while the number has never so much mattered to me it reminded me how many people would tune in per chapter. So I'm kinda sad about some of you guys not counting. So any comments are very very appreciated. When I'd get in a slump with writing I'd always go back through comments to motivate me. So thank you :) and I'm excited to hear what y'all think. Even if its just a "Like!" or question you got.
> 
> Next chapter will probably be shorter but it'll finally lead into the next episode lol. Until next time!


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